


"Faith" Recap/Adaptation

by Pluma83



Category: Choi Young - Fandom, Faith - Fandom, Goryeo - Fandom, Kdrama - Fandom, Kim Hee-sun, Korean Drama, Lee Min Ho - Fandom, The Great Doctor, Woodalchi, Yoo Eun Soo - Fandom
Genre: Action, Eui Son, F/M, Fantasy, Goryeo, Hwata, Romance, Woodalchi - Freeform, Yuan - Freeform, saeguk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 221,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pluma83/pseuds/Pluma83
Summary: This is an extensive recap/adaptation of the South Korean television drama series, Faith, also known as "The Great Doctor." The fantasy/romance/historical story occurs in the 14th century during the Korean Goryeo Dynasty. The new Queen of Goryeo has been seriously wounded and the King sends his best warrior, Choi Young, through a fabled doorway to heaven to find a divine healer that can cure her. The portal actually leads to modern-day Seoul, where the warrior kidnaps a doctor and brings her back to the 14th century to operate on the Queen. The story focuses on the slow-growing romance between Choi Young and the doctor as well as the healing of the King and Queen's relationship. Intermixed is the struggle of the King to make Goryeo independent of the Yuan Dynasty of China.
Relationships: Choi Young/Woodalchi, Choi Young/Yoo Eun Soo, Gongmin/Noguk
Comments: 21
Kudos: 32





	1. Episode 1, Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Faith (South Korean TV series)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/648898) by Song Ji-na. 



> Why write or read something that you can watch on a screen? A written version is a good adjunct to the televised version because it can include more explanation of events and the internal thoughts and emotions of the characters than is possible on screen.
> 
> This recap/adaptation includes most of the English translation of the scenes and dialog of the televised series, plus some excerpted translations from Screenwriter Song Ji-na's novelized version and her original script. I've added a few interpretations of my own here and there and moved some scenes to other places where I thought they were a better fit.
> 
> The Faith TV series starred Lee Min Ho as Choi Young, and Kim Hee-sun as the "Doctor from Heaven," Yoo Eun-soo. For additional information on the televised version, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_(South_Korean_TV_series)  
> You can also find translated excerpts from the novel on this site: https://breathlesssurvival.wordpress.com/faith-translations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new King and Queen are on their way to Goryeo when they are attacked and the Queen severely injured. The commander of the King's troop of bodyguards, Choi Young, is sent through a fabled "door to heaven" to find a divine healer to cure her.

**14th Century, Borderlands between Yuan and Goryeo**

It was raining as the small caravan slowly made its way along the road. The young King of Goryeo was returning to his country after 10 years as a virtual hostage in Yuan [Mongol dynasty of China]. He rode in a small carriage and occasionally invited others to ride with him for company or to discuss matters of state. The Queen, a Yuan princess, rode in a separate carriage with one or two attendants. They were accompanied by the King’s bodyguards, known as the Woodalchi. The road wound its way through verdant hills and along the river that divided the two countries.

Looking at the countryside as he rode, Jo Il-shin, the King’s primary advisor, noticed an unusual cloud above one of the hills, moving like rising smoke. But unlike smoke, it was a peculiar pinkish color. He muttered to himself, “Could it be…Hwata?” Hwata had been a legendary healer who entered a mystical door to heaven rather than serve a corrupt king. The door to heaven was said to be in that area.

Around the same time that Il-shin spotted the unusual cloud, Bae Choon-sik, Vice-Commander of the Woodalchi, approached his Commander on horseback. They were both dressed in black cloaks with blue cowls pulled over their heads for warmth and to ward off the rain. He reported, “We’re being followed.”

The Commander of the Woodalchi, Choi Young, sat astride his horse, his hair hanging over his forehead in strands, dripping wet in spite of the cowl over his head. He didn’t even look at Choon-sik. He simply said, “I know.”

“I don’t think they’re just bandits.”

Impatiently, the Commander replied, “I said _I_ _know_.” What he didn’t know was who was paying them. He only knew what his scout had told him, that there was a sizable body of armed men following them who were dressed in plain clothes. He knew there were strong factions in both Goryeo and Yuan that would just as soon not deal with a new, independent-minded king. So the Commander had taken what measures he could by quietly leaving Yuan’s capital at night, keeping the size of their party relatively small and inconspicuous, and traveling as quickly as possible to the Goryeo capital. To the casual eye their party appeared to be a wealthy man and his wife traveling with attendants and guards, but there were no royal insignias. Even the Commander and his men’s outfits had no badges or other marks. So the group following them were either a well-armed band of robbers going after a rich man's wealth, or they were after the King. Choi Young thought the latter was more likely, given the size of the group following them.

Shortly thereafter Oh Dae-man, a compact young Woodalchi with wild hair who was so fast that the Commander often sent him on errands or as a messenger, returned with more bad news. The border village where they were headed had no boats available to cross the river from Yuan into Goryeo. Boats wouldn't be available until the next afternoon. To make things worse, one of the carriages had just became mired in the mud. While his men struggled to get the carriage rolling again, Young slid off his horse and approached the King’s carriage, speaking to him through a side grill. Il-shin was riding next to the King’s carriage and listened in on the conversation. When he heard what Choi Young was saying, he blustered, “What do you mean, stay the night here?! We only have to cross the river. Look, Commander, wait!” Young ignored him and focused only on talking to the King. The youthful voice inside gave him approval to stop in the village for the night. Then, still ignoring Il-shin, the brusque Commander swung himself back onto his horse and the caravan continued to the village.

There was only one inn in the village, but it was a good one, with a large common room on the main floor, sleeping rooms upstairs, and a balcony overlooking the common area. The Woodalchi rented the entire inn, telling the owner that their newly married lord and his wife were hard to please, so their own servants would take care of them. Giving the owner a heavy purse, more money than the inn owner would see in a month, they had him turn out the current guests and told him to go home himself. After the current guests had left, some muttering and cursing at being turned out, the King and Queen entered, wearing cloaks and veiled hats to hide their identity. They entered with their retainers and went upstairs to separate rooms. The owner of the inn stared at the two from a corner, curious about who they were, but a Woodalchi quickly pushed him out.

Tired from the long ride and yawning, Choi Young entered the inn with his men. He found a jug of wine and took a long swig to quench his thirst, followed by a satisfied, “Ahh!”

Choon-sik commented again about the group following them, “If they want to stop us, they probably hid or took the boats and they’ll be expecting us to stay at this inn. Do we have to stay here?”

Choi Young was not known for patience or long explanations. He tersely replied, “Do you want to stay out in the open, with our flag planted in a field?” Choon-sik sighed, understanding their very limited options for that night. Young stretched himself out on a bench in the common room to rest. It had been a dreary day of travel, mostly in the rain, and he thought they were likely to be attacked as soon as it was dark. They would be outnumbered, as he had only 25 of the Woodalchi with him, but they were well trained and had successfully fought long odds in the past. He directed Choon-sik to set up their defenses and prepare for the coming attack. Then he closed his eyes and pulled his cowl over his face to shut out the light. He was known for sleeping whenever possible, but he was a formidable swordsman. While he dozed, his men closed the doors and windows, piled up tables and chairs to further block entrances, and stationed themselves on both floors of the inn.

In the King’s room, Il-shin was distrustful of how the Woodalchi Commander was managing the King’s journey. Il-shin had a stentorian voice that carried well, which he frequently used to command attention. “As soon as we get to Goryeo, you must get rid of Choi Young! I knew it as soon as they sent him with the excuse to escort you. This is a conspiracy! It’s taken 10 years for you to return to Goryeo. And now that you’re returning as our King, you should be accompanied by an army with flags raised high. But what is this? You can’t wear the royal robe nor show your face. No one can call you ‘Your Highness.’ It’s disgraceful…!” The King listened to Il-shin with one ear while drawing a picture of a horse with charcoal. He loved to draw and was quite good at it. He had learned to ignore Il-Shin’s overblown speeches, but he kept him as an advisor because he was an expert in protocol and had been a loyal retainer for the past ten years.

As twilight approached, Young arose from the bench where he had been resting and went upstairs to see the King. Without knocking and still yawning, he entered the King’s room. Il-shin was scandalized. “You dare to enter without asking..!”

Ignoring the indignant Il-shin, he gave a minimal bow and then addressed the young King. “Your Highness, we are likely to be attacked tonight, as we have been followed all day by a large group of men. We’re not sure who has sent them, but we need to be ready. I have asked the Queen to come to this room. It’s harder to protect you if you stay apart.”

At the King’s unhappy look, he continued, “I know your relationship with the Queen is not good, but please understand.”

Il-shin was scandalized anew. “You dare…!”

The Commander had little use for a puffed-up advisor when his men were about to risk their lives in battle. He interrupted Il-shin and asked him in a matter-of-fact voice, “Can you fight?”

Taken aback, Il-shin stuttered, “Wh-what?”

Young took a sizable knife from his belt, handed it to him, and then pointed, “Guard that window.”

“G-Guard that window?”

Young impatiently shoved him toward the window. Il-shin began to shake as he contemplated trying to take on an attacker with Young's knife.

The Queen and two attendants entered the room and the Commander bowed respectfully to her. The Queen was a tall, willowy woman who was considered very beautiful. But she had a fierce look on her face as she came into the room, just as unhappy as the King to be in the same room together. The King gave her only the barest recognition, and as further commentary, drew a big dark line through the beautiful horse he had been drawing.

Once night fell, a Woodalchi lookout spotted men approaching the inn and gave warning. The attackers wore no insignias or other marks to indicate who they served. They came in force, and soon pushed their way through the blocked doors and into the inn. As they entered the darkened common room, the Woodalchi cleverly dropped a luminescent powder on them from the second floor. The powder gave off a soft glow wherever it fell, so the defenders could more easily distinguish friend from foe in the dark. The Woodalchi fought fiercely with swords and whatever else came to hand on the common room floor, but as their Commander had anticipated, they were heavily outnumbered. 

While the fight continued on the first floor, Choi Young quickly went upstairs to the King’s room, saw him at a table and knelt before him. Looking the young King in the eye, Young said, “It looks like others have joined them, so they are even more than we thought. **_You must not run away._** Stay close to me. Can you do that?”

The King looked around nervously as the sounds of fighting rose from below, then looked back at the Commander and replied, “I will not run away.”

“Good. I will protect you.”

Young stood up, drew his sword from its scabbard and stationed himself a little inside the room, facing the doorway. The doorway limited the number of attackers that could enter at any one time, and his position would keep him close enough to the door to intercept them while still giving him room to fight as the King’s last line of defense. It wasn’t just bravado for him to take that position; he was by far the best warrior in the Woodalchi. Wearing thick leather armor, the Woodalchi Commander stood nearly a head above most people and towered over the much shorter King. His height and long reach gave him an advantage over most opponents, and he was very quick, unusual in such a tall man. An expert in weaponry as well as hand-to-hand fighting, he carried his sword like it was part of his arm. In addition he usually carried a knife tucked into his belt, at the moment loaned to Il-shin, and he carried another knife in one of his boots.

His looks were deceiving. He was relatively young for such a command, just 29 years old, and he looked even younger. Most soldiers wore their hair up in a tight topknot. The topknot kept hair out of their eyes and gave opponents less to grab at in a fight, but Young wore his hair carelessly tied at the back of his neck; loose strands fell around his face and forehead. He was very handsome, some would even say beautiful, with a face that was relatively unmarked for a warrior. It only bore a few nicks and short slash marks across the end of one eyebrow and the lower part of one cheek. His youthful appearance and good looks caused women to flirt with him and opponents to underestimate him. He generally ignored the women and made opponents pay dearly for their misjudgment. In serving Goryeo’s kings, he had killed so many men that he had lost count.

As the fight in the common room continued, a few invaders started climbing to the second floor. At the top of the stairs they encountered more Woodalchi with crossbows who drove them back. But as the invaders’ bodies began to pile up, they used their comrades’ bodies as shields and began making their way to the King’s room.

There they encountered Young, staring at them with professional detachment, making an instant assessment of their capabilities. His business was protecting the King and he was already prepared for the bloodletting to come. When the attackers first saw the tall warrior they hesitated, then gathered their courage and went for him as a group. He erupted with ferocious intensity, felling the first two coming through the door in one broad slash of his sword, knocked out a third one by pounding his head with the sword’s pommel, then sliced the throat of a fourth. In a just a few seconds, four men lay at his feet.

A fifth attacker came through the door while another swung through a window to Young’s left. He slammed the one attacker against the wall, crushing his throat with his elbow, then turned to the other and threw him to the floor, stomping on his ribs. Yet another man came through the doorway and went for the King. The commander took him from behind by the scruff of the neck as the man’s sword slashed the air just inches from the King’s face. He pounded the man’s head on the table twice, knocking him senseless. Meanwhile, other attackers were being engaged by the queen’s two serving women and Dr. Jang, the King’s doctor. One woman was killed, but the other managed to push one of the attackers aside. The doctor stopped one as well. Il-shin only cowered in a corner. More attackers kept coming.

One man finally got through. He ran toward the Queen, who was at the back of the room. To everyone’s horror, he slashed open the side of the queen’s neck. Young had seen him from the corner of his eye as he was finishing off another opponent. He turned and threw his sword like a knife at the queen’s attacker, skewering him. But the damage had already been done. The rest of the attackers fled. Their primary target hadn’t been the King after all; they wanted to kill the Queen.

Young and the doctor ran to the Queen’s side. She had collapsed on the bed, unconscious and bleeding profusely. Dr. Jang immediately got out his acupuncture kit and inserted two needles in order to slow her heart and the bleeding. The Doctor knew that the Commander had a special inner power, so he told him, “I’ll need your help here,” pointing to the needles he’d used on the Queen. Young nodded, then extended his hand toward one of the needles. From his fingertips came a line of energy reaching to the needle. It enhanced the needle’s effectiveness, slowing the Queen’s heartbeat as well as the bleeding. He did the same with the other needle. The doctor placed thick pads on top of the wound and pressed down, but not too hard. It wouldn’t do to stop all the circulation there; that might kill the Queen by itself.

The King asked Dr. Jang if he could heal the wound. The doctor said, “I think a vein has been severed. I’ve slowed the bleeding but I’m afraid I’d rupture it further if I tried to repair it. I’m not a divine healer.” The King, Dr. Jang and Choi Young all looked at each other, knowing there was little more they could do for the Queen. Young returned to the front of the room and sat down to rest against the wall, closing his eyes. Some of his men pursued the retreating attackers and trapped two wounded ones in the street. But they were already dying from the poison they’d taken to avoid questioning. The rest escaped.

The King’s retinue was in consternation about what to do. If the Queen died, it was likely that Yuan would directly annex Goryeo in retribution. For the past 80 years Goryeo had been a vassal state of Yuan, sending annual tributes of slaves and goods, barely retaining a separate identity. The King said, “If that woman dies…our country will die.” He knew the Yuan emperor would hold him responsible for his daughter's death, using that as an excuse to take over Goryeo altogether and make it part of Yuan. Addressing Young, he asked, “Woodalchi Commander, do you also think that?”

Without opening his eyes, Young replied, “I am a mere military officer who does not know anything about politics.” This statement was patently false, as no one survives in a royal court without acquiring at least some political knowledge and skill. But it was true that he wasn’t interested in politics, or for that matter, much of anything else. He usually didn’t engage with anyone unless it was in the line of duty, or to protect his own honor or that of his Woodalchi.

The King looked down, dejected. His confidence had been shaken by those 10 years as a hostage in Yuan. He muttered self-deprecatingly, “As soon as I became King, I couldn’t even protect my country. What a great King I am.”

Suddenly Il-shin’s face brightened as he remembered the odd cloud he'd seen on their way to the village. He slammed his fist on the table, saying, “There is a way, Your Majesty! There is a divine healer near here. I know where!”

Choi Young got to his feet, brushing himself off, and asked, "Where is he? We have to bring him then."

Il-shin continued, "Er...what I mean is…he is in a land in the sky. There’s a way to the skies!”

At the King’s disbelieving look, Il-shin went on, “It’s _there!_ Our only hope is to pray to the heavens.” Choi Young also doubted Il-shin, but continued looking on to see what more he had to say.

Somewhat snidely the King asked, “If we plead to the heavens, will they save her?”

But Il-shin confidently continued, “The fact that we are pleading is what’s important. If you ask the heavens with all your heart, people will say you look so sad and filled with grief. They’ll say, ‘He was fasting for 3 days to pray to the heavens…’ Those are the words that should be spread in Yuan!”

“So, that’s how we should restrain Yuan’s anger?”

“Yes, Your Majesty…for the sake of Goryeo.”

The King was skeptical but didn’t have a better idea. He told Il-shin to find the location and prepare an altar. His advisor left to question the villagers and make the preparations. Young asked Dr. Jang if the Queen could be moved, but was told that was impossible. Then the Commander turned to the King, telling him he'd divide his men, leaving more at the inn to guard the Queen. Young began to leave, but as he left the room, the King spoke to him, “Woodalchi. You have traveled with me for the long trip from Yuan. What did you think about on your way here?”

Turning around to face the King, the Commander tried to evade the question by saying, “I don’t normally think too much.”

“I am asking you what you think of me, as your King.”

Avoiding the King's eyes, he replied in neutral voice, “To have such a wise and kind-hearted King, I thought we were very lucky.” His eyes returned to the King as he added, “Do I have to say more?”

Knowing the Commander’s answer for the evasion it was, the King walked closer to him, saying, “You…dislike me, right?”

Taken by surprise, Young said, “Me?”

“From the beginning…you’ve disliked me even before you met me, right?”

With an uncomfortable smile, his Woodalchi Commander replied, “For me to answer that, I would have to die.”

The King pressed on, “Why do you dislike me? Even when I am your King. Please tell me sincerely from the heart. If I ordered you, will you tell me?”

Young’s smile faded and he looked directly at the smaller man. He decided that if the King insisted on an honest answer, he'd get one. “Your predecessor, Kyeung Chung, was only 14 years old. Because he was too young as a king, the Yuan Dynasty had him abdicate.”

“I know.”

“Your Majesty is 21 years old. Whether 14 or 21, I think they are both young. Also, you have lived in Yuan territory since you were 11 years old. So, you’ll only think in the same way as the Yuan do. To have a king like you is unlucky for the Goryeo people…That’s what I thought.”

The King paused and then asked, “Everyone thinks that way, right? The Goryeo people.”

The warrior spoke bluntly, “In the past 11 years, you are already the fifth King. The people won’t be too interested.”

The King struggled to keep his feelings from showing on his face. Then he looked up at the Commander, saying, “Thank you…for speaking your mind.”

The King turned to go back to his room, then turned back as Young, surprised by the King's response, added with a barely discernible smile, “And Your Majesty…I don’t particularly dislike you.”

The King smiled ruefully, then turned away again, thinking that the Commander was right; he could have him killed for such blunt talk. But would anyone else have had the courage to be so honest with him? And that man had just saved his life.

Later that night the King’s party, including Young and several of the Woodalchi, used torches to light their way to what they had been told was Hwata’s door to heaven. It was in the hills next to a grassy meadow, not too far from the village. There, they saw a vortex of energy swirling in a space between two short stone pillars with a lintel resting on them. Il-shin had ordered servants to set up an altar on the lintel and offerings on the ground in front of it. He greeted the King as he arrived, saying, “I firmly believe this is Heaven’s gate. One thousand years ago, Hwata went up to Heaven right here, through this door. In the kingdom of heaven Hwata had many disciples that he nurtured. I’m told that his disciples still come through Heaven’s gate once every 300 years.”

Squinting at the bright, swirling energy before him, the King replied, “So, we pray into the opening, is that what you’re saying?”

Il-shin clarified, “This is not just an opening. To get into heaven, you must go _through_ Heaven’s door.” Suddenly, the swirling cloud grew larger and brighter, accompanied by a loud roaring sound. Young immediately moved in front of the King to shield him and deployed his men to protect the King. 

Il-shin excitedly pointed, “The door to heaven is open, Your Majesty! Please order him to go there and bring a divine healer back, either Hwata or his disciples! Hurry! Before the door to heaven closes, Your Highness!”

Choon-sik, the Vice-Commander of the Woodalchi, recognizing that this was a highly risky venture, pushed Il-shin forward, saying, “If you know Hwata so well, go there yourself!” 

But Il-shin ignored him and continued talking to the King. “The Doctor of Heaven, the Divine Healer, is right in there, Your Majesty!”

The King thought for a moment, then turned to his Woodalchi Commander. “Even though I can’t believe all those words…”

Young looked at him and replied, “Please give me an order.”

“I think we have to try.”

Acknowledging the King’s order, the Commander said, “I will come back,” and bowed to the King. Then he gathered himself, took a big breath and let it out, and set his face toward the pillars.

As he walked to the opening, shading his eyes from the intense glow, Choon-sik grabbed his shoulder to stop him. “Commander!”

He only replied, “It’s the King’s order. Stay here,” and walked on.

Those who watched Young go into the opening saw him disappear in a twist of dark smoke. The door continued to roar and swirl, but he was gone.


	2. Episode 1, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young finds himself in modern-day Seoul, where he encounters and kidnaps a woman doctor, bringing her back through a time portal to Goryeo in order to heal the wounded Queen.

**Seoul, 21st Century**

Choi Young found himself on a stone platform. Although it was nighttime, the area around him was well lit. And it wasn’t just the immediate area; there was a glow in the lower sky all around him. He slowly stood up and looked around for a few minutes. He saw that he was at the base of a giant statue of the Buddha. Awed by the statue and the light, he put his hands together and bowed to it, showing his respect and gratitude for having arrived in heaven. Then, reminding himself of his mission, he saw a path leading down and away from the monument, and he took it. As he began walking away, a woman emerged from behind a wall at the monument. She snapped a picture of him, causing him to whirl around with his hand on his sword to see what was making the clicking noise and brief flash of light. She quickly stepped back behind the stone to hide herself. After he left, she nudged her husband and whispered, “Over there! Did you see that man?! He just appeared out of nowhere!” Her husband didn’t believe her, but she showed him the photo, and they both stared after him.

He walked along a descending path, stepping back into shadow whenever he saw other people. He wanted a little time to learn more before he showed himself. He saw a tall thin tower rising from another hill lit with colors brighter than anything he’d ever seen. In fact, there were lights everywhere, along the path in hanging lanterns, and lights at the ends of tall poles here and there. It puzzled him that there were no flames visible in the lanterns, and the tall lights were so bright they hurt his eyes when he looked at them. Heaven was incredibly bright.

Soon there was a break in the trees, and he was stunned to see row upon row of extraordinarily tall towers rising into the sky. They seemed endless. Many of them were covered with lights. One even had lights at the top that seemed to show a moving painting. A voice was announcing that there were sunspots and they were causing trouble. He thought heaven was a strange place indeed if the sun had spots.

Young finally came to the bottom of the hill with a very wide road just beyond it. Nearing it, he was stunned to see a type of carriage without horses that still moved very rapidly. There were many of them speeding along with continuous noise and blinding lights that lit the road ahead of them. The road was so wide that three of them abreast were going in each direction. He stepped closer to observe and was nearly hit by a small one. People on the street started noticing him. Many of them smiled and began pointing at him, and some held out small rectangular objects that momentarily flashed a bright light. Again he whirled around with his hand on his sword, but soon saw that they didn’t mean him any physical harm. Overwhelmed by the clamor and unwanted attention, he retreated into the shadow of a small shrine nearby and sat down to regroup. After a time he saw a monk passing by, chanting to himself. He approached the monk and bowed, saying earnestly, “Excuse me, I am called Choi Young from the land. I know I came to a place I should not have, but can you please help me?”

The somewhat distracted monk couldn't place the oddly-dressed man's accent but wanted to be helpful, replying, “What can I help you with?”

“I am looking for a divine healer.”

“A divine healer?”

“I heard Hwata came here.”

The monk looked puzzled. “Hwata…a divine healer?” Then the monk brightened. “Ah! You mean a doctor!”

“Yes.”

“Well, there are many specialties among doctors: internal medicine, surgeons, OB-Gyn, dentistry…Where is the problem?”

Young thought for a moment, then moved the edge of his hand alongside his neck in a slicing motion and said, “Here.”

Misunderstanding, the monk said, “Oh, you want a plastic surgeon. We’re in Gangnam [a wealthy part of Seoul], and there are many of them here. There’s even a big meeting of them at COEX, right across the street. You should go there.”

He looked where the monk was pointing and saw a large building not far away. But between here and there was that hellish road with speeding carriages, brilliant lights and tremendous noise. He asked the monk, “How do I go there?”

And the monk replied, “You just go there!”

Unsure how he would ever survive crossing that space, he repeated, “I…just. . . _go_?”

The monk nodded. After a moment of confusion Young brightened with a big smile. “Oh, I understand! It’s a lesson!” Perhaps heaven was testing his faith and courage.

Bowing to the monk, he thanked him for his help, turned and left, leaving the monk a bit confused himself.

Once again approaching the busy road, Young paused and closed his eyes to calm himself and focus on his mission. He opened his eyes and said to himself, “I’m .. just .. going,” and began to walk across it. Some of the carriages went by him, some almost hitting him, others screeched to a halt and made a very loud sound, and one person yelled, “What do you think you’re doing, you crazy bastard?!” He continued to walk, looking straight ahead, and made it across the road.

Approaching the building, he could see people in the lower part of it. He saw some people entering and leaving the building not far away, revealing a doorway, so he followed them. Inside, he went past a line of people, where someone called, “Sir, Sir, you must get in line to register!” When he didn’t stop, the registration person shrugged, assuming he was a performer of some sort, going to demonstrate products for one of the medical companies on the exhibition floor. His costume as an old-time Korean warrior was a bit outlandish, but she’d seen stranger ones. The line of people in front of her was very long, so it was a few minutes before she called security. He still needed to register.

Young entered a vast hall with hundreds of people in it, as well as many stalls and tables. It was very bright, like daylight. Once again, he quickly became a topic of conversation and stares. He ignored these while still keeping an eye out for a heavenly healer. He was fascinated by more pictures that moved and the many devices there, some of them apparently moving on their own. Continuing through the hall he finally spied a sign by a door to the side. He could read some of the Yuan characters on the sign. Many of the words were meaningless to him, but he could make out enough of it to know that it pointed to a place where people were speaking about healing. Entering, he saw many people sitting in tiers of seats leading down to a large picture at the front of the room depicting a person’s face and neck with some of the skin peeled back. The person at the front of the room was saying, “…And here we see a subcutaneous lift, used in the early 90’s… ” The speaker went on to explain how the incisions were made and excess skin removed with little scarring, and then critiqued the technique.

Young stood at the back of the room, mesmerized. The speaker was a woman. And she was a beautiful woman with brilliant, fiery-colored hair. Her voice was bright and lively. Since numerous people were in the room listening and taking notes, she must also be a doctor, perhaps one of Hwata’s disciples. He’d never seen anyone like her, nor had he ever seen a woman formally teaching both men and women. She looked up and saw him, staring straight into his eyes. He returned her stare.

Her thoughts, on the other hand, were very different from his. She saw him enter, and almost immediately some of the people in her audience began turning around to stare at the tall man dressed in odd clothes. She was immediately struck by the way he was ignoring the others but looking very intently at her, as though he was seeing inside her. She felt flustered momentarily and then shook herself back to reality, realizing that he was drawing attention away from her presentation on the history of cosmetic surgery.

She was seeking funding for her stem cell research, and she wasn’t likely to obtain funders if people were talking about the strangely dressed man instead of her presentation. Obtaining that funding and showing good research results were the driving forces in her life, as they would enable her to land a well-paid, permanent position at a clinic or hospital. At one point she had even contemplated becoming engaged to one of her patients solely to borrow money from him. So she was relieved when three security men arrived to take the man away.

Young let himself be escorted away from the meeting room while still staring at her. He was taken to the Security office for questioning, and one of the men asked what company he represented. Young didn’t respond; now he was staring at a bank of windows on the wall. Amazingly, each one showed a different scene. After several minutes he spied the flame-haired doctor in one of them, and he walked over to it. He began feeling along the edge of the window, trying to find the opening to that place. The window seemed to made of some kind of transparent stone. The frustrated guard said, Hey! Can’t you hear? Look here, mister, quit looking at the monitors…” and approached the warrior. Young asked him, “How can I go in there? Please open this for me. The doctor in here…I have to meet her.”

The security guard chuckled and said, “Are you joking around with me? We don’t have time for that stuff.” He looked at Young’s clothing, and then spotted one of the brownish-red stains on his armor. “What is this, ketchup?” He touched it and held it to his nose. Then, noticing his sword in its scabbard, exclaimed, “And look at this!” He tried to touch the hilt of the sword, but the warrior grabbed his arm, deftly turned him and shoved him away as the guard was saying, “Ah wait…Let’s talk.”

The momentum of Young’s shove carried the guard across the room and into a counter, where his shocked companions looked on. He shouted at Young, “You…you just assaulted me!” He said to one his comrades, “Call the police! Tell them there’s a crazy man in the building and he has assaulted the staff! And that he has an illegal weapon!” Then he took a police baton from another man and pointed it toward the warrior.

Young saw the guard hold out a long black club in front of him while saying, “You are in big trouble!” He had been keeping one eye on the woman in the window and one on the guards, but when he saw the guard start toward him, he put his hand on his sword and turned his full attention there. And then, in less than a second of fluid motion, he drew his sword and sliced through the club, lopping off most of its length. Shocked by the speed and accuracy of the sword slash and realizing this was a very dangerous man, the frightened guard could only get out, “Gah! Run, run!” And all three of the guards backed away and ran from the room. After a moment, Young also left the room, having recognized the woman’s location as the large hall he had first entered..

The doctor had gone to the exhibition hall after her presentation and was examining a surgical loupe that both magnified and illuminated a patient's incision. The salesman talking with her noticed Young as soon as he arrived. “Aish,” he muttered, “People are advertising for their company in strange ways.”

She looked over her shoulder and seeing Young, sneered, “Oh! He’s working in a costume? He must be an extra or something.”

But the tall young man approached her and said, very seriously, “There is an urgent patient.”

She noticed his oddly accented Korean but only looked skeptically over her shoulder, almost sneering, “So?”

“From what our doctor said, a major vein has been cut. Can you save her?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

He asked her again, more forcefully, “ **Can you save her?** ”

Ignoring him, she turned back to the salesman and said, “Isn’t this person kind of weird?”

The salesman smiled, saying, “I think he’s flirting with you.”

She put down the surgical loupe and tried to walk down the aisle, going around the strange man, but he moved to block her path. She moved to the other side of the aisle, and he stepped in front of her again. Surprised, she found herself wondering just who this crazy man was.

Then Young, the doctor and the salesman all looked up as the previous security guard approached, now accompanied by an armed police officer. “That’s him over there!” the guard pointed, “And that’s a real sword!” Not wanting to be taken away again, Young drew his sword. The nervous young police officer pulled out his gun and pointed it at him, exclaiming, “Look here! Put it down! Put..it..down!”

Most people encountering what Choi Young had been seeing and experiencing would have been completely overwhelmed and distracted. But he was an elite warrior. He stayed calm, rational and persistent in the face of a confusing situation, solving problems logically one step at a time to complete his mission. And here was another problem that he needed to solve. He saw the metal object pointed toward him, and from the man’s manner and tone of voice he thought it likely it was some type of weapon. He held the sword by his side, not wanting to appear more threatening than necessary, and became very still and alert. He turned his head just enough to ask the doctor, “Is it possible to save that patient?”

Now very frightened, she replied, “I-I’d have to see the patient first, of course. I need to know where and how the patient is hurt…”

He muttered to himself, “How much she’s hurt…you have to see for yourself.” Thinking how he could show that to her, he suddenly knew what he needed to do and quickly set about doing it.

He faced the young police officer again, who repeated, “Put your sword down!” With his left hand holding the scabbard, he darted forward and swung it into the man’s arm, knocking the strange metal piece away. The officer staggered back, losing his balance as well as his weapon. With his right hand, Young put the sharp edge of his sword against the side of the security guard’s neck, paused momentarily to gauge his blow, and slashed. In a few seconds blood began to flow from the wound, staining first the man’s collar red and then his shirt. People nearby started screaming and began to run away. The guard put his hand to his neck and then held it in front of him, seeing his hand covered in his own blood. He looked at Young in shock and disbelief, then slowly toppled toward him, losing consciousness. Young shouldered the man, holding him up, and muttered to him, “Why did you have to keep following me?” Behind him the doctor and the salesman cowered behind a display table.

The police and guards saw that he now had multiple hostages, one of them wounded. They retreated to clear the exhibition hall and call for more backup. Young lifted the wounded guard over his shoulder and carried him over to the table next to the doctor. He laid the man down and pulled back the man’s collar to expose the bleeding wound. He calmly addressed the doctor. “The cut was made just like this, and about as deep… Is it possible to save him?”

With a look of horror, she turned to the salesman and cried, “Ambulance! Call 911! Hurry!”

Young continued in a level, almost detached tone, “If you can’t save him…," and pointed to the salesman, “I will try again with him.”

The salesman began to beg for his life. The doctor looked up at the warrior and saw the intent expression on his face. Given what she’d just seen him do, she didn’t doubt that he’d do it.

She stood up and said, “You want me to save him? This person…here? Right now?”

He replied matter-of-factly, “It is urgent. Please start.”

She pushed her own emotions aside and assumed the role of doctor, briefly examining the wound. Then she moved out from behind the table, saying, “I need to have tools.”

The warrior allowed her to brush by him in order to quickly gather tools from the exhibit tables such as a surgical mask, gloves, antiseptic, instruments, bandages and so on. She put on the surgical loupe she had been viewing earlier. Young blinked at the bright light coming from it.

Meanwhile, more police arrived and began spreading through the building. Security called a nearby phone to try to reason with him, but Young, surprised by its loud ring, smashed it. The guards could see what was happening on closed circuit television and described the warrior to the arriving police as a crazy man with a sword and hostages.

The salesman was now on his knees frantically praying, and Young, seeing that the doctor could use some help, tapped his scabbard on the table in front of him to get his attention and told him, “If this man dies, it will be your turn.”

Getting the point, the salesman stood up. The doctor reminded him to don a mask and sterilize. She had the salesman pull the wound open with hooks, found the pieces of vein and began stitching it back together. Finally, she stitched the outer wound and placed a large bandage over it.

Observing her at work, Young was impressed with her skill, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. She worked quickly and confidently. When she had finished, he held his fingers to the guard’s neck. He was surprised to find that the guard still had a pulse. He had found his Divine Healer. Now he just had to bring her back to the Queen.

He told her that she had to come with him, that there was someone she needed to save. He gathered up her purse and the tools and equipment she had used, wrapped them in a tablecloth from a nearby table, tied the ends of the cloth together and hung it over his shoulder. She protested, “Mister! It’s been a while since I stopped being a surgeon…”

But he had already seen what she could do. He told her, “It may be difficult for you to enter into my world. Please follow closely behind me.” Young began to walk toward the building entrance. As soon as he turned his back on her, she crept in the opposite direction. When he looked back and saw what she was doing, he strode toward her. She saw him coming and began to run, but her high heels slowed her down. He easily caught up, took her by the back of her jacket’s collar and pulled her along with him toward the building’s entrance. He was used to having his commands followed, so as he dragged her along, he told her, “If I tell you to follow me, you should be carefully following. Why be so difficult?”

She continued to protest, “Where are we going? There are probably policemen everywhere outside. How are you going to get out?”

He turned to her, still holding her by the back of her collar, and replied with a slight smile, “Frontal breakthrough.” Then he took her by the wrist and continued pulling her along.

Before the entrance doors, they confronted a small cordon of police with shields and batons. Young stopped, studied the scene briefly, and let go of the doctor, who cringed behind him. He extended one hand toward the row of police. As he did so, energy that looked like small bits of lightning began crackling around his hand and arm. When he thrust his hand at the police, the energy expanded and leaped into the police line, knocking them down. Then he did it again, this time breaking the wall of glass behind them and knocking down another group of police standing just outside the building. Too scared to move, the doctor stared at what he had done to the police lines, both inside and outside the building, unable to believe her eyes. He turned to her and bent down, saying, “Please excuse me,” then lifted her up and put her over his shoulder, since he couldn’t trust her to follow him. She cried out in surprise and protest, but his grip on her was very firm. He also picked up one of the large transparent police shields and left the building.

The police were slow to reorganize themselves, unsure what had happened, and the people Young encountered on the street took one look at the intent expression on his face and the sword he carried and gave him a wide berth. He quickly made his way back up the hill to the monument, carrying the doctor over his shoulder. He could see that the doorway was still open, roaring and swirling. He set her down on some nearby steps, her long hair waving in the wind created by the vortex of the portal.

She took one look at the churning vortex and panicked. She frantically pleaded with him, “Please let me go!”

He could understand her fear, but he had a mission to complete. Looking at the portal, he said to her, “We have to go there.” But the swirling energy terrified her. She begged him again to let her go. He tried to reassure her, “I won’t kill you. If you save that person, I will bring you back.”

She sat down on the steps leading to the platform and the portal, crying, “Liar! I’ve seen your face. I saw in movies that when you’ve seen the kidnapper’s face, you get killed...” She began to cry.

He felt bad that she was sobbing like a child with tears rolling down her cheeks. He tried once again to reassure her. He knelt down in front of her, one hand on her shoulder, looked directly into her eyes, and gave his most solemn vow, “I am Choi Young, a warrior of Goryeo. For my name and life, I will help you return again. I promise you.”

She didn’t look reassured, but the time for talking was over. The queen’s life was ebbing away. He took her by the wrist to help her stand up and then pulled her right after him through the door.


	3. Episode 2, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor escapes from the inn where she's being held by the King and needs rescuing herself. Meanwhile another attack is made on the inn where the King and Queen are staying.

**Village on the Border of Yuan**

After Choi Young disappeared through the door to heaven, both Choon-sik and Il-shin urged the King to return to the inn where they could better protect him. But he refused. “We were planning to pray for three days and nights anyway, so I have to at least do that. I shall wait.” As they waited, Choon-sik thought about how his Commander had walked through the door with no hesitation or dissembling after receiving the King’s order. He wasn’t surprised by it, he just felt admiration for his courage and hoped he would succeed.

He recalled the time when the Commander had first come to the Woodalchi, seven years before. Choon-sik himself had been next in line to lead the troop, but the king had appointed Choi Young instead. Choon-sik had long ago released any resentment about being passed over; he had known he was overmatched. At just 22 years of age, Young had already been a commander in an elite group known as the Red Crescent Moon Army. They specialized in attacking and killing Japanese pirates and other enemies of Goryeo that preyed on the populace. They had become very popular among the people, but their group had abruptly been dissolved and its members assigned to the Woodalchi.

At that time the Woodalchi were not regarded highly, so Young’s appointment as their Commander was viewed as a demotion. He came with a reputation as a prodigious fighter, said to be able to kill three men with one sword swipe. Dol-bae, one of the more hot-tempered Woodalchi, doubted that any of things said about him were true and tried to challenge him when he first arrived. When Dol-bae tried to put his hands on him, Young hardly paused in his step as he shoved Dol-bae off balance and twisted his arm behind him, nearly dislocating it. Still, Choon-sik was not impressed at their first meeting. After Young entered the barracks, his first words were to ask where a bed was. He immediately went there and slept for nearly three days.

However, Young soon proved his worth to the Woodalchi. Disputes and harassment of the Woodalchi by the palace guards had become commonplace. In one instance, Young had been awakened by a commotion in the barracks, and still drowsy, came down into the common room to find two very bloodied Woodalchi, one of them with a broken arm, being helped into the barracks. They had been in a fight started by a group of palace guards that regularly harassed the Woodalchi. Young left the barracks, hair tousled and clothes rumpled from sleeping, taking a wooden practice sword with him. He waded into the Royal Guard instigators, quickly felling several of them, leaving them on the ground injured, moaning, and some vomiting. A few of the Woodalchi had followed him to see what he’d do, and they were left with their mouths hanging open, awed at his fighting prowess. But Young only turned and casually walked back through the groaning men on the ground. Seeing Young coming toward him, one Royal Guard still on his feet screamed and ran in the other direction. Young passed the stunned Woodalchi, returned to the barracks and went back to sleep. With this and a few other demonstrations, their new Commander served notice that the Woodalchi would no longer be easy targets. Although he took a hands-off approach to leadership, leaving most of the day-to-day training and direction to Choon-sik, the men drew inspiration from Young and the other Red Crescent Moon members that had come with him, studying their fighting techniques and strategies and honing their skills. Over the seven years that Young had commanded the Woodalchi, their skills and reputation had grown considerably.

Choon-sik’s musings abruptly ended when he saw the Commander return through the doorway. He led a woman by the wrist who was dressed in odd, light-colored clothing. He approached the King with her in tow and said, “I have escorted her here. She’s a doctor of the heavens.” The King frowned as he looked at her. He hadn’t expected a woman, and she looked a bit wild-eyed and fearful. As for her, she only saw a short, slight man surrounded by soldiers.

It quickly became clear to everyone that she wasn’t there by choice. As soon as Young released her wrist, she headed back to the doorway. He caught up to her and grabbed her wrist, more forcefully this time as his patience was wearing thin. She fought him, crying, “Let go of me!” But he turned and pushed her ahead of him toward the King’s party; the Queen was in desperate need of her. They returned to the inn, leaving a small contingent of Woodalchi to keep watch at the portal.

Arriving at the inn, Young brought the doctor to the room where Dr. Jang was tending the Queen and told him who she was. The Doctor from heaven looked around, hardly glancing at the Queen. Out of patience, Young said to her, “What are you doing?” Gesturing to the Queen, he told her, “You have to save her.” Dr. Jang began to explain the Queen’s condition to the Doctor from heaven, that they had slowed her heart rate with acupuncture, but she had lost a lot of blood. He thought it best to close the wound but was afraid that qi and blood might clash because the vein was severed between Cheongyi and Yepung.

She looked at Dr. Jang with utter incomprehension, saying, “ _What_ and _what_?” As Dr. Jang continued to talk about the Queen’s condition, she suddenly smiled and turned to Choi Young, “Ah! I got it! I got it! You’re in the middle of filming some kind of movie, right? And an accident happened while filming. You’re afraid the police will find out, so you kidnapped a doctor to help out…right?”

Dr. Jang looked at the Commander. “What is she talking about?” Young could only shrug his shoulders, as puzzled as Dr. Jang by her heavenly language.

Getting no response from the tall warrior, she turned back to Dr. Jang and urged him, “Just call 911. If I treat a patient like this and an accident happens, my license will be revoked! Just…think of it as saving both me and this patient, and call 911, okay? Should I do it?” and she began to get her cell phone out of her purse.

Chagrined, Dr. Jang again spoke to the Woodalchi Commander. “Is she really a doctor? How could a doctor not even look at a patient right beside her?”

Hearing him, she briefly looked chastened, but then continued in a cheery voice, “I’ll put in a good word for you to the police and the hospital. Seriously! I swear! So then…” Holding her phone above her head she walked toward the doorway, looking for a cell phone signal. But other Woodalchi blocked her way, preventing her from leaving the room.

Young walked over to her, leaned down and put his face directly in front of her, saying, “How many times do I have to tell you so that you can remember the order in which things will happen? First, save that person. Afterwards, I will take you back.”

All of the air seemed to go out of her as she finally resigned herself to the situation. She sighed and walked back to where the Queen lay and examined the wound. She prepared to operate and sterilized the instruments. Young had seen the implements she used in the previous operation, so he was able to point them out to Dr. Jang, who was assisting her, when she called for them. She used the hooks to keep the wound open so she could see, then found the pieces of the vein and sewed them back together. Lastly, she stitched the wound and placed a large bandage over it. Again, Young was impressed with her skill and efficiency.

Once finished with the surgery, the Doctor from heaven checked the Queen’s heart rate. She gave instructions not to move her and to check her vitals regularly. She added that, since she had done the surgery in such a wretched place, they should watch her closely in case of an infection, and to keep sterilizing. Then she left the room and went downstairs to leave. She tried to open the inn’s main door, but once again, Young followed to stop her. She cringed away from him while pleading, “Please let me live! I did the surgery…!”

He slapped his hand around her wrist and began dragging her back to the interior of the inn while saying, “She hasn’t woken up yet.”

She protested, “You have to wait and see!”

“Exactly, so you should be waiting. Where are you going?”

Struggling and trying to break his grip, she cried, “What am I supposed to do? I did everything I could do here!”

As they argued, Young looked up and suddenly stopped, turned and bowed. The doctor also looked up to see the short man she´d seen at the portal. He was standing above them on the second-floor landing and was dressed in robes that were more ornate than the men on either side of him. She smiled at him and asked, “Are you her guardian? You just need to watch over the patient carefully now.”

The King asked, “Will she regain consciousness?”

“Well I can’t answer that. That patient is not my responsibility. I would like you to understand that point clearly. This surgery…I did it because I was forced to. This has nothing to do with my medical license…”

The King interrupted, addressing her, “Person from heaven…”

“ _Me_?”

“My country rests on that woman’s life.”

“ _Country?”_

“Seeing as heaven has sent you, can I believe that heaven is caring for my country?”

More confused than ever, she looked away in despair and muttered, “That person is even weirder!” She sat down, put her head in her hands and cried, “Wake up! If this is a dream, please wake up!”

Looking at her, Young thought that this woman was so upset and difficult to deal with that the sooner they returned her to heaven, the better. And he was uneasy about having kidnapped her. But there was something about her…he remembered the scent of her when he carried her over his shoulder to the portal. The scent was from a flower but he couldn’t remember which flower it was. How could such a scent come from a human being? Perhaps it was because she was from heaven.

Meanwhile, two other things were happening. A servant girl sneaked out of the inn. She went to a man with a scarred face and reported to him that not only was the Queen still alive, a divine healer from heaven had healed the Queen’s wound. He in turn attached a small note to a homing pigeon’s leg and sent it off while the girl returned to the inn. And at the door to heaven, the Woodalchi stationed there noticed that the swirling cloud was gradually getting smaller. The man in charge of the small group, Ju-seok, was third-in-command of the Woodalchi. He sent one of the men to tell the Commander that they thought the door to heaven was beginning to close.

The King called Young and Il-shin to his room to discuss what to do with the doctor. Il-shin was firmly against returning the doctor to heaven. “That person shone with light from heaven and saved Her Majesty the Queen. Heaven sent her to us. Why would you return her there?”

Young interjected, “Didn’t I say I promised the healer that if she saved the Queen, I would return her?”

Il-shin continued pressing the King, “Your Highness, right now, there are powerful people in Goryeo who, if they had the chance, would take over Goryeo completely. They would offer Goryeo to Yuan and just wait to grab the prize from that. They will do everything to make that happen. If you return to Goryeo with heaven’s healer, those people would never dare look down on you. And you can promise them that they will do well with you as King. Your Majesty would become a king backed by the heavens! _This_ is the way for Your Majesty to live… and for the country to live! Heaven is giving this to us, Your Majesty!”

As Il-shin spoke, the Commander became increasingly uneasy. At last he stepped forward, shoved Il-shin aside and approached the King, telling him. “I made the promise as Goryeo’s Warrior.” Il-shin began to speak again, but the King waved him away. Young continued, “You grew up in Yuan so you might not know, but a Goryeo warrior **_makes that promise with his life_** _.”_

But the King said, “Didn’t you just hear? If I can bring that heavenly healer with me to Goryeo, he says it will guarantee my safety.”

“If your safety can only be guaranteed by going that far, that is a bit…”

“A bit…?”

“Pathetic, isn’t it?”

Il-shin was outraged for the King, “You bastard!”

The King calmly replied. “If it is for the sake of the land, it’s more important than one person’s promise, is it not?”

Angry now, Young realized he was fighting for his life. “For the nation, this so-called loyal subject,” referring to Il-shin, “Says to give honorable promises to dogs. And I as a warrior have killed people for this country. But you as the King, shouldn’t you be better than people like us?”

The King and Young stared at each other for a moment. Finally, the King said, “I will take some time to decide. We will talk later.”

While they waited for the Queen to regain consciousness, they put the Doctor from heaven in a separate room with guards outside the door, and the servant girl was tending to her. The Doctor couldn’t get a signal on her cell phone to call for help, so she tried offering the girl money to help her leave. The girl ignored her, but before she left, she unlocked another door in the room that led outside. The man with the scarred face would be all too pleased to find the Doctor on the streets of the village. A short while later, Dae-man went to check on the Doctor. He found the door open and the Doctor gone.

The Doctor from heaven was moving away from the inn and down the street as fast as her chic high heels allowed. Along the way she asked every so often where she might find a taxi. No one understood her request. She even tried asking for a telephone in both Chinese and English, but again received no response. A group of children trooped along with her, exclaiming at the fabric of her jacket and pointing to her shoes. She held up her cell phone to see if she could get a signal and spied Dae-man in the screen's reflection, following her. She ducked into a small booth selling clothing and hid among some of the clothes on a rack. Dae-man had seen her go in that direction but couldn’t tell where she had gone. Stymied, he paid a man to go to the inn and tell the Commander where he was, and then he waited. Meanwhile she slipped out the back of the stall and began to climb a hill adjacent to the village, thinking she might be able to get a cell phone signal from a higher elevation. When she looked back down at the village, she was astonished. It was really quite large for a movie set.

Young was drowsing when the messenger brought the news about the doctor’s escape. He was irritated to have his sleep interrupted but became immediately alert once he was given Dae-man´s message. He hung his new shield over his back, grabbed his sword, and began to leave. Choon-sik asked if he wasn’t going to take someone with him. He replied that they had stayed in the village too long and were likely to be attacked again. He wanted as many men at the inn as possible. He turned and addressed them. “Those people have already seen our tactics, so they won’t use the same method again. If I were them, I’d reduce our numbers one-by-one quietly. Attack one side to attract attention, then make a back assault. Let’s use a triple defense.”

Choon-sik confirmed, “Then…His Majesty is the most important.”

Young interrupted him. “No, _Her_ Majesty is the center.”

“But what about His Majesty?”

Annoyed, Young replied, “Figure it out for yourself! Guard both of them.”

Then he left with the messenger to find Dae-man and the Doctor.

Above the village, the Doctor still had no cell phone signal, and she walked back down the hill, ending up in a different part of the town. She was puzzled, wondering if this was also part of the filming set. No one appeared to be home and no doors opened when she pounded on them and called out. Frustrated and tired, she shouted as loud as she could, “Is anyone here?!” Finally, she saw a blacksmith in his shop pounding a piece of metal. She approached him, excusing herself and telling him she had a question. He didn’t answer her. Suddenly there were two more men behind her. One of them was the scarred man to whom the servant girl had reported. Still not understanding her danger, she began to ask the blacksmith how she could go to the COEX in Gangnam. All three of them surrounded her and began closing in. She finally understood that she was in trouble. She tried to run away, but they blocked her. She took off one shoe with its very high heel and tried to fight them off with it. The scarred man promptly took aim with his fist and knocked her unconscious.

A short time later, Young and Dae-man were exploring several directions in order to pick up a clue about the Heavenly Doctor's whereabouts. At last Young spotted a few children playing with something unusual. It was the heel to one of the Doctor’s shoes. A little further on they saw the rest of the shoe. Looking at the ground, he saw drops of fresh blood and several footprints. He told Dae-man, “It was done by three men, and the blood may belong to her. They have to be the same bastards, the ones that attacked us earlier. They blocked the boats at the dock and tied us down, then they attacked the inn. But how could they have known about the Doctor’s identity?”

Dae-man said, “You think there’s a leak?” His Commander agreed that there must be someone giving information to their enemy.

Still focused on finding the Doctor, Young thought they might get a lead by discovering who had tied up all the boats. He asked Dae-man, “Who keeps the boats?”

“The boatman was a Goryeo person, but …”

“Let’s go there.”

They found the boatman snoring in his fishnet hammock, his beard vibrating with his snores. An empty bottle of wine lay on his chest. Young pounded on his chest with the bottle to wake him up, and once he stirred asked, “This wine bottle, with whose money did you buy it?”

The boatman slurred, “Er, there is no boat!”

Young hit him again in the chest with the wine bottle and repeated, “With whose money did you buy this?!”

The boatman shouted, “I said there is no boat! Aish!”

The Woodalchi Commander wasn’t a patient man, nor did he tolerate insolence when he was on the King’s business. He violently tipped over the hammock, grabbed the boatman up off the floor by his shirt, dragged him over to a full water barrel, and held his head under water. When he let him up again, he gave the boatman a moment to get his breath, then repeated, “Who is it? Who gave you money to hide the boats?”

“I said there are no boats!” The boatman’s head went back under the water and stayed there. At last the boatman held up his hand and waved it in surrender. This time, when he could finally breathe again, he directed them to the blacksmith’s workshop.

The two Woodalchi were spotted by the scar-faced man as they approached. The Doctor had been bound and gagged, and one of the men stayed upstairs, hidden with her to keep her quiet, while the blacksmith continued at his forge. The scarred man left to send a homing pigeon asking for instructions on what to do with her.

Walking into the blacksmith’s workshop, Dae-man went upstairs while Young stayed on the ground floor, looking around. When he turned his back on the short, stocky blacksmith for a moment, the man ran at him with a sword. Young heard him coming, ducked and smoothly stepped aside. He didn’t even bother to remove his own sword from its scabbard; the other man wasn’t a warrior and was slow. When the man turned to attack him again, Young knocked the man’s sword away and hit him several times with his fists, dropping him to the ground. The man tried one more time to attack the Commander, who used his long legs to kick the blacksmith back to the floor. Then Young picked him up by the hair, cuffed him roughly several times as he struggled, and dragged him over to the fire. He started to push the man’s face into it. As the man saw what the Young was going to do, he cried out. Dae-man, who knew the Yuan language, told his Commander that the man had said he would talk.

Young stopped and leaned down, taking the man’s chin in his hand. “Tell me _what_?”

“He says he has nothing to do with it. He doesn’t know anything,” said Dae-man.

“That’s not what I want to hear.” He harshly cuffed the blacksmith again and forced his face toward the fire.

The man screamed and shouted more words in panic. Dae-man interpreted, “They are planning to use poison. At the inn.” When Young released his hold, the man threw his arms around the warrior’s legs, begging for mercy. Dae-man interpreted again, “He will tell you where it is!”

The Commander lifted the man to his feet and shoved him in the direction he had indicated. He showed them barrels covered by woven bamboo mats. When uncovered, they saw stacks of small pottery balls, each with a cork stuck in a small hole. Young picked one up, uncorked it and took a cautious sniff. It was poisonous gas.

The man spoke again and Dae-man cried, “He says it’s already started! His Majesty is in danger!”

The Commander hesitated for a second and looked back into the workshop. He was sure the Doctor was there somewhere. He hated to leave her, but there was no question of not protecting the King. They shoved the blacksmith aside and started running for the inn. Dae-man was faster and ran ahead.


	4. Episode 2, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young rescues the doctor from heaven and returns with her to the time portal, intending to return her to her world.

**Frontier Village**

The blacksmith had been correct, another attack on the inn had already started. Choon-sik had regularly called out to each group of soldiers stationed around the inn and on the roof. But the soldier guarding one part of the roof was no longer responding. Choon-sik blew a carved whistle to signal they were being attacked. Almost immediately attackers began to swing down from the roof, throwing balls of poison gas through windows and doors. And there were three archers on the roof of a nearby building who shot anyone who tried to leave. Dae-man arrived and saw that the archers were a primary problem. He was small but very fast, able to climb and use his acrobatic skills to surprise and attack opponents. He climbed to the roof and disabled the three archers, taking them from behind by surprise, then knocked two other men off the roof. 

But the gas was spreading inside the inn. People covered their noses and mouths with their cowls and accompanied the King downstairs, heading for the door now that the archers had been disabled. Dr. Jang picked the Queen up in his arms and, led by the servant girl, began to follow the King’s party. In the smoke’s haze, he couldn’t see that the servant girl was leading him in a different direction. In a few minutes the King also noticed that Dr. Jang hadn’t come down the stairs with the Queen. Frantic about where the Queen had been taken, he went back up, and the Woodalchi followed, searching for her.

The servant girl had taken Dr. Jang and the still-unconscious Queen outside to a low balcony. While the doctor was carefully setting the Queen down and propping her up against a railing, the girl locked the door from the outside, preventing the defenders from reaching them. They were in an exposed position, and almost immediately two attackers jumped onto the balcony. Dr. Jang was kept busy fending them off. Dr. Jang also had a type of inner energy, which he exerted through a large fan he carried, sending disabling energy through it into an attacker's body. Behind his back the servant girl was about to stab the Queen. But just then the Queen woke up and glared at her. Momentarily shocked, the girl hesitated. Her pause was just long enough that Young, arriving at that moment, was able to throw his shield at the servant girl, instantly killing her. The other Woodalchi soon broke through the locked door and dealt with the remaining attackers. Young approached and knelt in front of the Queen to see how she was doing. He stood as the King rushed over and told him that she was awake. The King asked her if she was all right. The Queen groggily replied, “Why is it so noisy here?”

Upon hearing the Queen speak, Young asked the King, “Your Majesty, the Doctor from heaven has saved her. If I find her, may I keep my promise to her?” The King said he was still deciding, and that he should go find her. Young and Dae-man returned to the blacksmith’s shop, Dae-man once again running ahead of the Commander.

As Young entered, Dae-man reported, “There’s no one here. Even if they caught her here, they would have taken her somewhere else. Let’s get 10 of our warriors, search everywhere in town and in the mountains…” While Dae-man was talking, Young became increasingly angry and frustrated. There was no time to do a search. He had to get the King to Goryeo before there were more attacks. In times of strong feelings his inner energy surged, and this time it traveled from his heart down his arm and into his hand, where he released it in a line of energy into the ground. He closed his eyes, breathed out to calm himself and said to Dae-man, “I’m going to look around more. You go and report to the Vice-Commander.”

Suddenly they heard a high voice say, “Please feed me!” It was coming from upstairs. They heard it again, “Please feed me!” The battery on the doctor’s phone was running out of power and the voice was an automated message informing the phone’s owner that it needed charging. The remaining man guarding the Doctor searched frantically through her purse for what was making the noise, but he had no idea how to stop it even when he found the device. As the two warriors began to climb the stairs, the man dragged the Doctor to the top of the stairs, kept her in front of him, and held a knife to her throat. He spoke and Dae-man interpreted. “He said to move aside. If not…he will kill her.” Young motioned to Dae-man with his eyes. Dae-man climbed over the side railing to distract the man, who obligingly turned just a little to watch him and then turned back, exposing a small part of his chest in the process. That gave Young the opening he needed. In a flash he took his knife from behind him and threw it, piercing the man’s chest. He collapsed, releasing the Doctor as he fell.

The Doctor from heaven slowly sank down on the stairs, sobbing. She’d been terrified while in the clutches of the three men, and the psychopath who kidnapped her had just killed a man in front of her. And now that same man knelt in front of her, removed the rope around her hands and reached around her head to remove the gag.

As he knelt in front of her to release her from her bonds, he saw how pale and disheveled she was, and her lip was bleeding. His heart clutched a bit to see her injured. He was responsible for her and he wondered how serious a crime he had committed against heaven. He felt worried and anxious, but he turned his worry into anger. While freeing her he scolded, “You really are a troublesome person. Didn’t I tell you to wait? Where do you think this place is, to run out like that? And look at you now!”

She was still crying but resented his words. He softened a bit, reaching out to take her chin in his hand so he could look at her wounded lip, saying, “Let me see.” She knocked his hand away and got up, still sobbing, limping on one shoe across the room to get her large purse. Dae-man had found it and offered it to her, and she grabbed it from him and limped toward the stairs on her one remaining high heel. They approached her as she started down the stairs, but she cried, “Just try to follow me!” She threw her remaining shoe at them, saying, “I’ll hurt you!”

Young let her go, but called after her, “Her Majesty the Queen has awoken. That’s why I was going to send you back.” She turned and paused, and Young once again approached her. “Let’s go to where you came from.” He bowed to her, “I’ll take you back.”

He reached for her purse to carry it for her, but she shied away from him. She sobbed, “Just try…putting me on that dirty shoulder again, like I’m a bag of luggage!” She turned away to walk out of the shop, still muttering as she sobbed.

Young sighed. Direct action was called for. He came up behind her and easily picked her up in his arms. Surprised and traumatized, she twisted and fought him, crying, “Killer! Psychopath!” Then she looked up at his handsome face, which was calmly looking right back at her. She paused, noticing that he didn’t appear to mean her any harm. In fact, he was thinking that he could hardly smell that wonderful scent of hers again. It was being overshadowed with the smell of blood from her surgery on the Queen. He was very familiar with that smell.

He told Dae-man to return to the inn and say that he was bringing the Doctor back to heaven’s door, and then turned his attention back to her. He warned her, “If you fall, you’ll break,” and walked out with her in his arms. As he carried her, he began to smile; for once he had actually managed to quiet her, and he looked forward to returning her to heaven so that uneasy feeling would leave him. As he carried her, he noticed that, compared to most Goryeo women, she was taller and she filled his arms. The wind blew her long, flame-colored hair into his face and he knew he’d remember her scent and hair long after she left.

Once they were out of the village and on grass, he put her down so she could walk in her bare feet. She followed him, saying, “I know this place from earlier! But… I don’t know how I got to here from Gangnam! Wait up, let’s go together!”

Arriving at the portal, Young gestured to the vortex that still rotated rapidly but was much reduced in size. “Can you see? The door is getting smaller. If that closes, there’s no way to take you back. So please go.”

Hesitating, she asked, “I can just…go through there? Then will some door open?”

“You just have to go through.”

“You mean that I have to get through that? Don’t you have to do a test? Are there any glitches or malfunctions?”

Young came around in front of her. That made her anxious, but he simply bowed deeply to her, saying, “Thank you for the hard work. You did well.” Surprised by this gracious gesture, she bowed back to him. Then she started toward the door, still uncertain. She looked back at him, thinking that if she could see his eyes, she’d know if he was telling her the truth. But his head stayed bowed to honor her.

All at once, they heard a shout, “STOP!” It was Il-shin accompanied by several Woodalchi, including Choon-sik and Dae-man. “Heaven’s Healer, you can’t go!”

The doctor paused and Young stalked over to confront Il-shin. “I, Goryeo’s Warrior Choi Young, am sending her back in my name.” Then he shouted, “The person who ignores my name! Who is it?” He drew his sword, saying, “Try to stop me!”

A smug Il-shin calmly replied, “His Majesty said so, Woodalchi. To stop the person from the heavens.”

Young drew and thrust his sword toward Il-shin. “Lies! I can’t believe that.” Everyone took a step backward, eying his sword.

But Il-shin looked to the other Woodalchi. “Didn’t you hear? Catch her! It’s the King’s order!” He turned to the Commander again with a smile. “Woodalchi Choi Young, I said it’s a royal order. Will you go against it?”

Young found it hard to believe the King would throw his life away, but there it was. No one was contradicting Il-shin. The other Woodalchi, although reluctant, were beginning to draw their swords at Il-shin’s command. He looked toward the Doctor, who had paused to listen to the discussion. As he looked at her, there was something inside him that urged him to go get her, and not solely because of the king’s order. She saw him turn toward her and she began running to the door, but he caught up with her before she could enter the portal. He grabbed her by the wrist and began pulling her back. She shouted, “Let go! Let me go!” and frantically struggled to get away.

He was holding his sword in one hand, and worried that he might injure her in her struggles, drove it into the ground point first, which also freed both of his hands to restrain her. He held her arms, pulling her back up against him as she fought to get loose. But something else was happening, too. They both paused to look at the portal. The swirling cloud and roaring noise, which had been decreasing all day, abruptly disappeared. A few dark tendrils remained for just seconds before they too vanished. The door had closed.

Young released the Doctor and she ran to the portal, looking at the now empty space and touching the stones around it in disbelief. She realized that she would not be able to go home; she was stranded here. Young felt guilt descend on him like a dark cloud; he had betrayed a sacred oath and wronged her deeply. With a heavy heart Young left her and returned to Il-shin, saying with great bitterness, “His subject, I, Choi Young…followed the order and caught the person from heaven.” Il-shin looked very pleased with himself.

Suddenly Young heard, “Hey, you jerk!” from behind him. He turned to see the Doctor, her eyes filled with tears and her face distorted with rage. “You promised me!” She pulled his sword out of the ground and pointed it at him, “You said you would help me return! You Psycho! Murderer! I’m going to kill you!” And she began running toward him holding the sword in front her. He kept his sword razor sharp; even having just been driven into the ground, it could penetrate leather with a good shove. He saw how he could pay for his sacrilege. Facing her, he held his arms away from his body as she ran at him, gathering momentum. The sword pierced his abdomen a little to the left of center and slightly above his waist; his body jerked as the sword slid into him. He felt the inner energy in his body clash with the sword.

The Doctor, suddenly coming back to her right mind, couldn’t believe what she had just done. She stared at the partially buried sword and at Young in abhorrence. But there was worse to come. Everyone’s jaws dropped as the Commander placed his hands over hers on the hilt and _pulled the sword further into him and through the rest of his body_ , his face grimacing in pain. Those behind him saw the point of the sword emerge from his back. His men cried out, and the Doctor also cried, “Wh-why? H-How come? You could have avoided it, so why?!”

He said to her through his shock and pain, “If I do this…” and then whispering, “have I made it right?” And then he fell to his knees. The horrified Doctor also knelt in front of him, trying to decide what to do.

At the inn, during the events at the portal, the Queen was sitting up on a bed, her back supported by pillows and the wall behind her. She asked about the King’s decision to prevent the Doctor from returning to heaven. “A Goryeo warrior’s promise is guaranteed by his life. He made a promise, putting his life on the line, but there was an order that went against it. So there were two options. Either to refuse the royal order, or to die. Did you want him to choose one?” The King didn’t answer her.

The Queen continued, “That’s not it…That means, either way, Choi Young is to die.”

The King got up from his chair and walked toward her angrily. “Are you criticizing me right now?”

“No, I would not do that. I’m just organizing my thoughts. Did Your Highness really want to kill him? I’m curious about that.”

The King looked discomfited but didn’t say anything.

At the portal, there was chaos. Dae-man was filled with rage and grief. He shoved the Doctor away and went to Young, who had sunk to his knees and was now slowly collapsing. Il-shin slapped Dae-man hard, saying, “Crazy bastard! How dare you touch the Doctor that came from the heavens!” Choon-sik and another Woodachi, Dol-bae, grabbed Young’s shoulders and supported his upper body, keeping his back off the ground so the end of the sword wouldn’t press into it.

Ignoring Young and smiling, Il-shin went to the Doctor and offered her a hand up, saying, “His Majesty is waiting. I will escort you there.” 

But the Doctor was having none of it. Keeping her eyes on Young, she said to Il-shin, “Move aside.”

“Miss, His Majesty…”

Shoving him away, she cried, “I said move aside!” She rushed to Young, knelt beside him and asked, “Can you hear me? Are you conscious?” Young was clearly in agony as Choon-sik held his head and shoulders. She touched his neck to feel his pulse and said to the men holding him, “This sword, be careful not to move it. It’s blocking further bleeding.”

Il-shin tried again, “Look here, we don’t have time. We don’t know when they will come after us again. They are not only after His Majesty. For sure, they are aiming for you, the Doctor from Heaven, as well.”

She wasn’t listening to him. She was saying, almost to herself, “We don’t have blood and we can’t do transfusion.” And then to Choon-sik, “We have to do surgery right away! Is there something like tape?”

“Tape? What is that?”

“We have to keep the sword in place while moving him. Something like strong cloth.” Choon-sik began removing his cowl to give to her.

Still trying to get them moving, Il-shin shouted, “I said we don’t have time for this!” And then more solicitously to the Doctor, “Here…we have to move now.”

She replied, “Where are we going?! What about this person?!” Young was beginning to shake with pain and shock.

“We have to leave him,” Il-shin replied. Then he knelt in front of the Commander and addressed him, saying, “Woodalchi, if you are conscious, answer me. If we stay here because of you, His Highness will be in danger. So we have to leave you here. Don’t you agree?”

Young had heard Il-shin and managed to get out, “Go.”

Choon-sik told him, “I will leave some men…”

His Commander interrupted him, rasping through gritted teeth, “Don’t have me say it again. It hurts. Take everyone and go!”

But the Doctor disagreed. “I can’t go!”

Il-shin kept trying, “You don’t know the situation…”

The Doctor interrupted him, “I know the situation! You’re the one that doesn’t know the situation! I stabbed this person, and if he dies, I become a murderer. I’m not losing him!”

“Fine. Then let’s do this.” Il-shin reached down and with a grunt, _pulled the sword_ _out_ from the wounded man’s abdomen. Young writhed in agony and blood began to leak out of his wound. Addressing the Doctor, Il-shin said, “Now _I_ am the one who killed him. So don’t worry anymore, and please get up.”

The Woodalchi were outraged, and the Doctor was nearly beside herself. She placed her hands over the wound and pressed down to staunch the flow of blood. She cried, “My tools! Get them ready!” Choon-sik sent Dae-man for them.

Everyone ignored Il-shin. The Doctor showed the Woodalchi where to keep pressure on the wound to reduce bleeding until she could operate.

Il-shin still wasn’t giving up. In his stentorian voice he shouted, “Everyone, receive my order! Escort the Doctor of the Heavens and ...”

Choon-sik shouted, “The one who came from the heavens has already made an order! To apply pressure!” Il-shin finally understood that he had lost the battle of wills.

Running into the inn, Dae-man rushed upstairs toward the King’s room, told the guards he had to get the heavenly tools, and pushed his way into the King’s room. Panting, he said to the King, “I came to get the tools. The person from heaven told me to bring them.” He ran over to the instruments and gathered them up in a cloth.

The King asked, “Why does she need them?”

With tears in his eyes, he replied, “The Commander…was stabbed by a sword!”

“He was stabbed? Then…he disobeyed my order? Is that why you slew him?”

Dae-man was in a frenzy, nearly sobbing, and responded, “None of us can slay him! Not even all of us together could slay him. Please! The Commander will die…I have to take this to the Doctor.” He went toward the door with the tools wrapped in a cloth. As he did so a small vial fell out of the cloth and rolled onto the floor.

The King stopped him by shouting, “I asked you! What did Woodalchi’s Choi Young do with the order?!”

Dae-man turned around and knelt before the King, sobbing out, “Your order…he followed it. That’s why he’s dying. So please!”

The Queen interjected, “Go. I am permitting it.”

Dae-man stood and ran out the door, inadvertently stepping on the small vial and crushing it as he went.

The Queen turned to the Royal Doctor. “Jang Bin, go. Choi Young saved my life…in the name of the Queen, I command you, go and save him.” Dr. Jang left with Dae-man.

Noticing the King staring at her, the Queen asked him, “Will it be alright for me to give orders like this, Your Majesty?”

He stalked toward her and spoke. His voice was tight with anger. “I won’t say this twice. Listen carefully.”

“I’m listening.”

“From now on, whatever you do, you have to get my permission first. Upon my command, you, the Queen, will follow with each word, each step. Do you understand? I know that the precious Yuan princess, who was handed over to someone like me, is angry. Having to leave your own country and go to a country you are not familiar with. You are being dragged there. You might even want to rebel. But…I’m this country’s one King, and you are one of the people in my country. So please fix your manners.” He paused. “Are you not going to answer?”

The Queen looked at him coolly, “You haven’t given me the order to answer yet, so I could not speak.”

The King was a bit taken aback by her subtle defiance but didn’t respond. He turned and left the room.

They had improvised a litter to carry Young and gingerly removed his armor before laying him on it, leaving him in his black underclothes. They kept pressure on the wound and the Doctor from heaven constantly checked on him as they moved as quickly as possible back to the inn.

She told him, “You have to stay with me! Can you hear me?”

In spite of his pain he was very aware of her. He rasped, “You’re touching me here and there, all over…how would I go unconscious?” 

“If your heart rate keeps increasing, you could go into shock. I can’t do a blood transfusion here, so regardless…”

Young was still mindful of Il-shin’s comment and didn’t want to delay the King’s departure for a moment. Using the last of his strength, he reached up and grabbed the front of her collar, raising his head. With great effort he said, “You didn’t do this.”

“What?!”

“Imja*, you could never stab me unless I let you. Listen to me carefully. If you really want to save me, leave me and go. I will figure out a way to live so…please, leave me!” She looked in his eyes and saw that he was resigned to dying. It frightened her to see that and made her even more determined to save him.

She pushed his hand down from her collar and shouted at him, “SHUT UP!”

“ _What_?”

“I said, shut up! Listen carefully. The order goes like this. First, I will save you. Then you are free to live or die, but not now!” He stared at her, nonplussed. Then, exhausted and in great pain, fell back on the litter.

When they reached the inn, they laid Young on a table and both doctors prepared for surgery. As the Woodalchi gathered around them, she told them to boil water and to get as many clean cloths as possible, the more the better. Looking through what Dae-man had brought her, she asked, “Where’s the antibiotic? It’s a little vial about this big. If we don’t have that and continue in filth like this, he will contract blood poisoning and die.

Dae-man suddenly remembered the little vial he had stepped on. He grabbed his head. “Ai!”

Understanding that he didn’t have it, she put her hands out in front of her and said to the Woodalchi, “You guys go outside. Don’t even come near! You’re filled with bacteria!” They all backed away except for Choon-sik, who was still pressing on the wound. Turning to Dr. Jang, she said, “We need antibiotics and anesthesia. Is there anything similar?” He didn’t understand the words, but he sent an aide to get his medical kit from the King’s room. After some discussion, it turned out they did have a type of anesthetic, and an aide began dripping the liquid onto a cloth covering the patient’s nose and mouth. After a few minutes, the Doctor anxiously asked Dr. Jang, “Why is he still conscious?”

“How could we block consciousness so quickly? Please wait.”

“We’ve got to do the surgery right now!”

“As he’s the Commander, he can withstand the pain.”

She vehemently disagreed. “It isn’t a matter of him withstanding the pain! I’m about to cut open his abdomen to see the extent of organ damage and proceed accordingly. But if he is straining his belly to withstand pain, his organs will stiffen. Then I won’t have a clear view, and I won’t be able to suture properly.”

While they argued, Young was slowly losing consciousness. He could still hear the voices of the two doctors but felt he was going to a deeper, darker place. When Il-shin had told them to abandon him, he had almost smiled, thinking, “ _Yes, this is the way. It isn't a bad way to go, dying with my sword beside me.”_ His last conscious emotion was one of annoyance that she was stubbornly refusing to give up. But the faint scent of a flower drifted along with him into the darkness.

Finally the aide cut short the two doctor’s argument by saying, “He’s lost it.”

“Lost what?”

“His consciousness.” Eun-soo ran her fingers over Young’s eyelashes to be sure. They didn’t move.

An assistant had already boiled and sterilized the instruments. She asked him to have more boiled water ready, so they could irrigate where bleeding occurred as much as possible. She told Dr. Jang that, since they didn’t have suction, they’d have to sop up the blood with the white cloths continuously. After sterilizing, she put on her gloves, mask and surgical loupe and then picked up a scalpel.

Dr. Jang grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to cut the abdomen open from the solar plexus to the navel. That’s how we can see where he’s injured. So far it looks to be liver damage. We have to open him up to see for sure. Look here, if I don’t stop the bleeding, he’ll just die. So let go!”

Dr. Jang was skeptical. “And you, who stabbed him, are saying that you will save him…How can I trust you?”

She spoke confidently and sincerely, “Please believe me.”

“How?”

“Since it seems that I am… a person from heaven …you can believe me.” He reluctantly let go of her wrist, and she began to cut into Young’s abdomen.

* Imja: Choi Young uses this term for the Doctor from Heaven in two ways, a somewhat respectful "you" early in the series, and later as a term of endearment similar to "Dear one."


	5. Episode 3, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young wakes up after surgery and gets the King's party back on the road to Goryeo. Ki Chul plots to murder the Goryeo advisors loyal to the new King.

**Frontier Village, Road to Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Ki Chul’s plan to become the most powerful man in Goryeo had been proceeding well up to now. Making Goryeo part of Yuan was part of that plan. His official title was Prince of the Court from Deokseong, and he would be highly favored through his family connection with the Yuan royal court. The current empress of Yuan was his younger sister. So, while the new King’s party was still on their way home, he disposed of the Goryeo court advisors who favored independence. He had sent a secret letter to each of them, saying that the King had been attacked and the Queen had been assassinated. The letter called for an emergency meeting, naming a specific time and place. He had an accomplice among the advisors, Ja-won, who encouraged them to attend. Then, when they were gathered, Ja-won quietly left. The doors and windows were blocked and poison gas thrown into the room. That was end of the loyal advisors except for Il-shin, who had been with the King during his time in Yuan.

While the Doctor from heaven was operating on Young, Ki Chul was in his mansion on the outskirts of the capital of Goryeo, Gae Kyeong. He was dressed in cream-colored silk clothes with rich embroidery and pearls running down the sides of his jacket. He wore a silver mesh fitted over the crown of his head with a jewel at the front of it. The smooth skin of his face bore a thin moustache, with a small tuft of hair below his bottom lip. He was the very picture of Goryeo wealth and nobility. But his face became twisted with rage once he heard the message sent from the small village on the border with Yuan. His men had failed to kill the new Queen. He had been counting on her death as an excuse Yuan could use to end Goryeo’s independence once and for all. He was furious. Slamming his hand on a table, he shouted, “How could this happen?!”

His personal physician and assistant, Yang-sa, knelt and cowered in fear. “We’ll take care of it right away.”

“Right away? Oh, something that’s taken me years to plan, you’ll take care of it right away.”

“Forgive my impudence.”

Ki Chul continued to rant, “I have taken down a King, and I have made another King…And now that King was about to wrap up this nation and deliver it to me. I haven’t been able to sleep well or enjoyed a meal waiting for this day. And the princess of Yuan still lives?!”

Ki Chul’s pledged brother [close connection but not a blood relative], Cheon Eum-ja, told him, “Pledged sister is running to them. Please wait for one day.” They expected her to find out what had happened and correct the situation. Both Eum-ja and the pledged sister, Hwa-su-in, had _nae-gong_ , or inner powers, as did Ki-chul himself. They had all studied under the same teacher and were a potent triad.

Ki Chul growled, “The Yuan princess has to die. That woman cannot live to enter the border. That is not the picture I drew.”

Then Ki Chul directed Eum-ja to take care of the messenger; he had heard too much. Once the others had left the room, Eum-ja looked at the messenger, who remained huddled on the floor. Eum-ja was a striking figure himself. He was nearly as tall as Choi Young, and had long white hair with an off-side tail that gave him an exotic look. His unusual look was matched by an unusual talent. He took his special flute and began to play. His inner power was sound, and he could kill with it. His flute music combined a high-pitched sound with other aspects of nae-gong that disrupted the brain’s functions. The huddled figure screamed, quickly collapsed while holding his head, and died.

Meanwhile, the surgery on Choi Young was going well. The Doctor found that most of his organs were intact. Miraculously, only the liver was damaged, but it was bleeding profusely. They frequently had to stop to sop up excess blood, and a pile of bloody cloths began to accumulate on the floor. She tied off the bigger blood vessels and heated some of Dr. Jang’s larger acupuncture needles to cauterize the smaller vessels. The pile of bloody cloths continued growing, but now at a slower pace. After suturing the liver, she stitched the incision closed. Turning him over, they found only muscle damage where the sword point had exited just below his ribs, and they closed that wound. Then they applied bandages to both sides and wrapped cloth tightly around his middle to keep pressure on the bandages and minimize further blood loss.

Young slowly regained consciousness the morning after his surgery, surprised to still be alive. He had chosen to die to redeem his honor, but evidently heaven still had a few more things for him to do. He found himself in his black underclothes. The top had been left untied and open, exposing his chest and abdomen with a wide cloth wrapped snugly around his middle. Eventually he tried to sit up. He gasped with pain, feeling as if he was being stabbed all over again. It took some time and his abdomen hurt terribly, but he persisted, and very slowly he was able to sit up, panting with the effort. Once he was sitting up, he tied his top closed, looked around to see where he was, and noticed the doctor sleeping in a chair next to the table. She looked exhausted, with messy strands of her fiery hair sticking to her face. He tried not to wake her. He gingerly slid off the table onto his feet and nearly fell. Hunched over and gasping again with pain, he leaned on the table, slowly moving toward his sword, which was in its scabbard and leaning against a wall near the entrance to the room.

He fell against a small table next to the sword, waking the Doctor. She spied him there, hunched over and standing unsteadily, and initially felt concern for him as a patient. But when she noticed that his hand was grasping the scabbard, she picked up a scalpel and threatened him with it. “Don’t move an inch! The sword… put it down! Or else…”

He squinted over at her and rasped, “Or what? What will you do? You stabbed me, then you spent the night treating me. Then stab me again? And then cure me again?”

She saw that he was actually only using the sword in its scabbard to help prop himself upright. Just then Dae-man came in, pushing the Doctor aside, running to his mentor and helping hold him up. “Commander!”

Still hunched over in pain, Young asked him, “How long was I unconscious?”

“One night. And it’s morning now.”

“What about the King? Did he leave yet?”

“He is still here.”

Young was surprised and dismayed by that news. “ _Why_?!!” As he spoke he automatically tried to stand erect, but a sharp stab of pain made him gasp and hunch over again.

He groaned as Dae-man continued, “His Highness said he would wait and depart with you.”

“Damn it!!” Young forced himself to a more upright position and asked Dae-man help him get dressed. He was driven to act, and there was no time to lose. He limped out of the room still holding his stomach as the Doctor shouted after him, “Where are you going?! You just had surgery!”

Dae-man helped him into his clothes and then into the dress armor that he had worn in the Yuan court. It was stiff and uncomfortable, but it helped keep him erect. Then he slowly went downstairs, leaning against the railing and panting with pain. He nearly fell over at the bottom but was caught by Choon-sik.

His Vice-Commander and a few others quickly gathered around him, expressing their concern. “Should you be moving like this?” “We worried so much”, and, “We thought we might lose you.”

Then the Doctor came down the stairs looking for him and shouted, “Didn’t you hear me? You need absolute bed rest! I worked hard to suture, but what if the wound bursts out again?”

Ignoring her, he told the Woodalchi that they were leaving right away, and to prepare the boat. Two of his men nodded and left to follow his order.

But the Doctor continued shouting at him, “I mean, do you think I just stitched up your skin or something? Your liver and veins were cut and they were barely put back together!”

He kept ignoring her and turned to his third man in command. “Ju-seok, prepare to leave immediately.”

The Doctor placed herself in front of him and grabbed at his arm. “This patient, really! Go back to your bed right now! I’ll watch over your condition until tomorrow and tell you when you can move. And farting. You know what farting is, right? Until you can fart, you have to fast.”

The Commander dropped his head in exasperation as she persisted, “And the stitches, I will take them out in one week. Until then, you have to do whatever I tell you. The problem is…”

Young suddenly fell forward onto her, nearly knocking her down. Choon-sik and Dae-man kept him from falling to the floor. As they supported him, he spoke into her ear while leaning on her shoulder. “The problem is…if we don’t run away right now, we will all die. I can’t fight in this condition,” he panted.

“Why?”

“You said not to eat until I fart. How could I fight?”

“No, I mean…Why would we be killed?! W-Who…and why us?”

He turned away, as he had his suspicions but couldn't give sure answer about who was behind these attacks.

She once again grabbed at his arm, but he turned and spun her around, then put his hands on her shoulders. He was very worried for the King and Queen but also for her, the Doctor from Heaven. He decided to give her a short explanation, saying, “Imja*, they came for you, which means those people now know who you are.”

“Those people?”

“I don’t know how much they know. But before they come again, we have to run away.”

But that only caused her to demand more answers. “Run away?! Where to? Why should I?”

Exhausted by the surgery, in great pain and losing patience, he replied, “Simply answering ‘yes’…I guess you never do that?”

“No, what I’m trying to say is …”

“I promised to help you return… For me to keep that promise, you have to be alive, right? Until then I will protect you. So stay close to my side.”

He turned to go, speaking again to Dae-Man and Choon-sik. “We are going to escort the King and the Queen. Prepare the carriages.”

She called after him again, “Go? Go where?” He turned around, annoyed. She continued, “The door I have to return through is here in this area. Knowing that, how can I leave?" She stamped her foot in defiance, adding, "I’m not leaving, I won’t!” 

He saw that she didn’t understand, and he’d reached the end of his patience and energy. “Dae-man.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Briefly gesturing to her, he said, “Do something about this.” And he turned and left. When she tried to go after him, Dae-man blocked her way. 

The King’s retinue did get moving, and by the afternoon the King’s party had finally crossed the river and were on their way to the royal palace in Gae Kyeong, Goryeo’s capital city. Choi Young was astride his horse toward the front of the group with a Woodalchi on either side of him. His head hung down and he could barely stay in the saddle. The two Woodalchi kept a close eye on their Commander, ready to help if needed, although their stoic Commander was known for being stubborn about accepting much in the way of personal assistance, even when he had been wounded in battle.

The Doctor from heaven found herself in the Queen’s carriage. The young Queen was drowsing, her body unconsciously moving along with the cart’s jostling. But the Doctor found the experience extremely uncomfortable. The bench she was sitting on was covered in beautiful cloth but had almost no cushioning, and the ride was very harsh. She kept moving around, trying different sitting positions and even laying on the narrow bench across from where the Queen was sitting. Finally she got up, rubbing her sore bottom, and sat next to the Queen, taking her pulse from time to time to check on her. The Queen appeared to be recovering nicely. But the Doctor was still frustrated and angry at Young, muttering to herself, “That psycho! It would serve him right if his wounds break open and he dies. I’ve done enough, so sue me. It wouldn't be all my fault!”

But as she thought about it, she was also very curious about him. Why did he not only allow her to stab him but then drove the sword deeper into himself? Did he really want to die? She was also puzzled by what he had told her as they carried him back to the inn for surgery. She remembered the strong hand that grabbed the collar of her shirt. At that moment she had been so close to him that their breaths mingled. Although his face was contorted by pain, he still talked with strength, and his quiet voice was still in her thoughts. What did he mean when he said, “ _You didn’t do this?_ ”

Later that same day, Hwa su-in, Ki Chul’s pledged sister, alighted from a boat at the border village and met the scar-faced man. On their way to the inn, he told her that, if she had arrived earlier in the day, they might have been able to stop the King’s party. They had sent a message and waited all night. But now the King was already across the river and on his way to the capital. However, their military commander was apparently seriously wounded. Hwa su-in, who had delayed her arrival for a private rendezvous the previous night, saw that she was being criticized. This man would eventually tell Ki Chul about her late arrival. Keeping her voice friendly, she approached him where he sat, removed the glove from her right hand and put her arm around his shoulder, as though to draw him closer in order to whisper something to him.

“How about if I say this? You betrayed us. Perhaps they offered you money or they beat you. So you told them I was coming and they escaped. By the time I got here it was already too late.” As she talked, she placed her hand on the side of his face and began sending her power into him. Her nae-gong was heat and fire, and she sent burning power into his body until his heart stopped, killing him in moments. His body slid off the chair and onto the floor, the side of his face where her hand had been showing horrible burns. With hardly a backward glance she left the inn to go on her way.

Meanwhile, in the Queen’s carriage, the Doctor’s muttering had eventually awakened the Queen, and the Doctor introduced herself. “My name is Yoo Eun-soo. You must be a little younger than I am. Your name is…?”

The Queen answered, “Borsigin Botashri.”

“What?”

“Princess Noguk, the daughter of the Emperor of Yuan.”

Incredulous, Eun-soo repeated, “The Emperor’s daughter? A princess?” Eun-soo chuckled briefly, then crossed her arms and frowned, wondering why she couldn’t wake up from this dream. She continued, “Then the one in the carriage in front of us…”

“Is the King.”

“Heh. The King. And the Princess.” She couldn’t believe her ears. “Wait, Yuan? You mean China? Wait a second. That would be when Korea was Goryeo or Shilla?” She looked at the Queen and apologized, “In school I wasn’t that good in history…”

The Queen told her that they had just arrived in Goryeo.

The Doctor wondered, “So I went back in some kind of time machine from Gangnam to Goryeo?! And I traveled from the 21st century to …When was Goryeo…Hundreds of years… A thousand?!”

The Queen explained, “I heard the warriors talk. They saw you come from the heavenly gate. I have also heard that the Commander forced you to come to save me. I owe you a debt.”

But Eun-soo only got up and lay down on the bench across from the queen, holding head in her hands, shaking it hair flying, crying, “I want to wake up!” Just then the carriage hit a larger pothole, and at that strong jolt she fell off the bench onto the floor of the carriage. 

An hour or so later, after Eun-soo had calmed down, something occurred to her. She recalled a recent session she’d had with a fortune teller. She had asked when and where she’d meet her man. She hoped he would both handsome and rich, so he could fund her research and a new clinic. But what the fortune teller told her was very odd. After shaking his fortune sticks and consulting a book, he told her that the man meeting her criteria would be heaven sent and would be someone from the past. He encouraged her to think about men she had already met. At the time she found that news discouraging; she wasn’t interested in anyone like that; previous relationships hadn’t gone well. One boyfriend had dumped her for a rich woman in order to build his own clinic, and another was rich but personally repellent to her. But the fortune teller again assured her that the man meant for her was from the past. He even told her that this fortune was very rare; heaven didn't very often send someone specifically meant for a person. Then he shook the sticks again for another divine sign. This time when he laid them out, he added that she would need to go far away for at least a year, that she would meet him if she went through the door. She thought his predictions were not only obscure but preposterous, and she had decided to consult a tarot card reader instead of this charlatan. But now, remembering his predictions, she wondered if he could he have been speaking about this place and time. If so, when would she meet the rich and handsome man meant for her? Would he come back with her through the portal? Would she have to stay here for a year? Or, perhaps it was still just drivel.

Later, Choon-sik approached the Queen’s carriage with a message from the King. He asked her to be ready to greet all of the nobles when they arrived at the palace. Messages had been sent ahead, announcing their arrival. The Queen wasn’t happy about that, feeling that she didn’t look her best without a bath and change of clothes, and what’s more, she had a big bandage on the side of her neck. She looked into her polished brass mirror with distaste. Eun-soo leaned over and looked into the Queen’s mirror to see that its reflection was vague and distorted. She exclaimed, “Wha..!” Then she took her own mirror out of her purse and gave it to the Queen. Looking into it, the Queen was startled by its crystal-clear image. The Doctor also took out her own makeup kit and applied a little rouge and lipstick to the Queen’s face to give it more color. The Queen smiled; now she felt better about meeting her new subjects.

At his mansion in the capital city, Ki Chul was also discussing the King’s arrival with his blood brother, Won, and Yang-sa. He wanted to test the loyalty of the remaining advisors and nobles and put the new King in his place. His nephew’s first birthday was coming up, and that was the perfect excuse for a banquet at the same time as the King was expected to arrive. “We must all celebrate that special occasion,” he laughed. The party would be in full swing at Ki Chul’s mansion, with all the Goryeo nobles and powerful families attending the party rather than greeting the new King at the palace.


	6. Episode 3, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King and Queen arrive in Goryeo. Choi Young disrupts a party thrown by Ki Chul. Choi Young asks to be released from the King's service. The doctor tries to treat Choi Young's wound.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

The King and his entourage entered Gae Kyeong, the capital city, and then came to the palace compound. The compound consisted of a large plaza with several highly decorated buildings placed around it. The buildings were trimmed in red with large round columns in that color, but the eaves and other parts of the buildings included blue, green, black and gold. The roofs of the large buildings were high in the center and turned up at the corners, making them look like wings that could ascend at any moment. On the other side of the plaza, directly across from them, was the main palace, the largest and most ornate building of them all. A long staircase led up to its entrance. In this imposing space there was only silence. As they walked further into the plaza, their own noise echoed back at them. A few guards were stationed here and there, but other than that, the palace was deserted. Il-shin, ever mindful of protocol, began to exclaim in a loud voice, “Never in history has this ever happened! Not even the most wicked nobles failed to welcome their King! How could they treat us this way?! To us who endured hardships for a decade in Yuan?!

The King’s party continued into the main palace. They came to the throne room, richly furnished in red with bamboo hangings, and side doors and windows in a powder blue color. Finely crafted wooden desks and cushions for the King’s advisors lined the center aisle leading to the throne. The King walked in and stared at his throne, with its back and armrests ornately carved and covered in gold leaf. There should have been a welcoming crowd of nobles and advisors here as well. Il-shin was still shouting about how shameful the situation was. The King looked back at the Queen and the others. They all felt embarrassed for him. Young quietly approached one of the guards. “Where are the nobles? I sent messages about the King’s arrival.”

The guard replied, “They have not come,” and told him that they were at Ki Chul’s mansion, celebrating a birthday.

Finally, three women came into the room and fell to all fours with their heads bowed, greeting the King. The middle-aged woman in the center said, “Your Highness. We welcome your return. Does my King remember? You held this servant’s hand when you were taken to Yuan.”

It took the King a moment to recognize her. “Court Lady Choi?”

“Yes, my King. May we stand up? We still have much to do.”

The King smiled, “I remember you and your temperament. You haven’t changed. Stand up.”

Rising, she said, “My King, you need not linger here. Do come inside and take a rest from the trip.” Turning to his retainers, she scolded them, “What are you waiting for? Tend to your King!” Spurred to action, they showed the King to his quarters.

Lady Choi then turned to greet the Queen. “My Queen, welcome to your new home. Allow us to serve you. We heard a terrible rumor that you were wounded…I can only thank the heavens for allowing me to see you today looking so well.” The Queen looked straight ahead and did not reply.

Lady Choi’s companions led the Queen to her rooms. As Lady Choi turned to follow her, she passed by the Doctor and Young. Eun-soo waved at her with a smile, but Lady Choi ignored her. Instead, she looked up at Young’s face disapprovingly. “Look how pale you are. And you are supposed to guard the King? Tsk.”

Once Lady Choi had left, Eun-soo turned to look at the tall warrior, noticing his pallor and beads of sweat on his face. “You have a fever, don’t you? You might have an infection. Let me check,” and she reached up to his forehead. He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, turning her around, and then gave her a little shove away from him. Even though he hadn’t tried to hurt her, she still cried out and held her arm. He felt bad, but he had so much to do that he couldn’t deal with her right then.

He saw that she wasn’t injured and said to Dr. Jang, “Take care of her.” Dr. Jang was also concerned and reached for Young’s his wrist to take his pulse, but he brushed him aside as well. Leaving them, the Commander walked down a hallway by himself. Once the others were out of sight, he stopped and braced himself against a wall, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He was very ill, but he told himself he had to stay on his feet. The situation was too dangerous to show weakness.

An exhausted Young went to his quarters and sat down. Concentrating, he gathered his inner power to heal himself. He had done this successfully many times, and it was an important part of why he had survived so many battles. As he summoned his inner energy, a vision of his father, who had always stressed doing one’s duty honorably came into his mind. Young spoke to him in his mind, saying, “ _Father, I can’t do this anymore. I have done everything that I can.”_ He was referring to his duty to the country. He went on, “ _I have repaid every debt that I have owed, except that last one to the heavenly woman. I just have to keep living until I’ve repaid her._ _Then I can leave this world._ ”

Suddenly he felt his inner energy falter. He realized that the extraordinary amount of inner energy he’d used get through the cordon of guards in heaven had left him with no reserves. Still feeling very feverish, he slowly removed his armor and the cloths covering his abdomen, then removed the wrapping over his incision. It was raw and painful, leaking blood and pus. He sighed with exhaustion, discarded the old bandage and gingerly wrapped new cloth around his torso. Getting dressed in the same armor again, he left, leaving a bloody cloth behind.

The members of the King’s party separated and went to their accustomed residences or workplaces. Dr. Jang, for example, showed Eun-soo to the Royal Medical Office. It was a large wooden building with its own inner courtyard and a substantial herb garden. She was impressed with the size of the medical office and the number of people who worked there. She thought that Dr. Jang owned it, but he quickly explained that this was the King’s facility, and they treated the people within the palace. As they continued talking, she told him that she thought Choi Young might have septicemia and explained what it was. “A germ gets into the body and reproduces, producing a toxin that poisons the patient.” Dr. Jang was intrigued with the idea of a germ reproducing inside the body. “So you’re saying that he has that infection?”

“I’m not sure. I’d have to examine him to know for sure. But he wouldn’t even listen to me or let me touch him. The symptoms are fast breathing, and high fever or hypothermia. He might even get mentally deranged, so he must be treated as soon as possible.” She explained that, without antibiotics, there was little treatment for him if he had septicemia. His chance of dying was around 70%. As they talked, however, it was hard for them to understand each other, as their terminology and approach to their practices were very different. Even the basics were different. For example, she had to explain to Dr. Jang what a "percent" was. And she felt totally at sea without her modern tools. Dr. Jang, on the other hand, thought she was too ready to give up without the medicines and tools she kept mentioning. He always persisted with a patient, trying different treatments until he found one that worked or until the patient died.

In the Queen’s quarters, Lady Choi told the Queen that they’d get her bath ready. She asked the Queen if she would like something to eat. The Queen hadn’t said anything, and Lady Choi assumed she didn’t speak Korean. She told a serving woman to bring the Yuan interpreter. She continued speaking, “They said you were dead but you are very alive. Who would dare to spread such rumors?” Placing tea in front of the Queen, Lady Choi looked at her and said, “Let’s see… you look short-tempered, but you are very beautiful.” The interpreter arrived, and Lady Choi asked her to ask the Queen if she would prefer to eat before having a bath.

But the Queen interrupted the interpreter, saying in perfectly good Korean, “I will take a bath first.” Lady Choi’s face fell as she realized her impertinent comment had been understood.

While soaking in her bath, the Queen recalled the first time she had met the King. She had known she was to marry him long before she met him, so she had been taking lessons in the Korean language. On the day they finally met, more than two years ago, he was avoiding his retainers and found her sitting in a little alcove by herself. She was partially veiled, so he couldn’t see all of her face. He told her not to be alarmed; he meant her no harm. He introduced himself and they talked. From her accented Korean, he thought she might be a Goryeo girl that had been brought to Yuan as a young child as part of Goryeo's annual tribute to Yuan. He explained that he was hiding because he was supposed to meet a Yuan princess who he was to marry. He spoke disdainfully of having to marry a Yuan woman, not realizing that he was talking with that very person. She tried to persuade him that perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, that the princess might help him be more powerful in Goryeo. But he was having none of it. Otherwise, their conversation was congenial, and they arranged to meet from time to time. She listened to him and he was kind to her, telling her he would arrange her return to Goryeo at the same time he did. He even told her that he’d prefer to marry her as his first wife. She always remained partially veiled, so he didn’t realize who she was until they were actually married. Far from being delighted when he discovered who she was, he felt she had tricked him, and in response he treated her coldly.

After wrapping clean cloth around his torso, Choi Young dragged himself over to the medical office to make sure the Doctor from heaven was all right. He asked Dr. Jang’s assistant, Deo-ki, a mute woman who was an expert in herbs, if the Doctor was there. She used her hands to tell him that she was spoiled and demanding. He smiled and said, “I see from your reaction that she is here.” He didn’t have the energy to talk with the Doctor, so he peeked through a shutter to check on her. She had skinned her knee on a stone wall in the hospital’s herb garden and, as he watched, rolled up her pant leg to look at it. Women never showed their legs in Goryeo except to their husbands. He quickly looked away, embarrassed.

Then he heard her complaining, “They bring me here and leave me all alone? This is so rude. I want a bath. Where is the bathroom? Where is my lunch? I’m hungry.” As he listened to her complaints, he started smiling without being aware that he was doing so, relieved that she seemed to be alright except for that skinned knee. Although she was always complaining, using heavenly words to swear, she was still as lively as ever. He looked through the shutter again. She had put her leg back on the ground, out of his line of sight, so he continued gazing at her. Deo-ki came and shoved a plate of rice cakes toward the Doctor. When she also asked for water, Deo-ki only frowned, pointed outside to the well and left. Eun-soo made a face after the other woman left.

As the mute woman passed by Young, he stopped her. “I’ll send some of my men here to guard her. I know it’s troublesome, but be patient and take care of her.” At her head shake, he added, “Please, I promised her I’ll guard her.” Besides being very handsome, he had always been kind to her, so Deo-ki nodded, despite her dislike of Eun-soo. After Deo-ki left, he heard the Doctor coughing. She had yet to get her water and the rice cakes were too dry, but she was eating them anyway. He looked at her again and smiled. While watching her he had forgotten about his own pain and the many tasks lined up for him to do. He found himself remembering her scent, the feel of her body in his arms, and her fiery-red hair blown against his cheek, and her antics were a pleasant diversion from the other very serious business at hand.

The King had asked for him, so his next stop was the King’s quarters. As Young entered, the King was listening to the long list of scholars who had suddenly died a few days before. Il-shin noted that all who died were loyal to Goryeo and against Yuan. They would have been loyal to the new King. He continued, telling the King that there was only one person who would dare to rebel against him: Ki Chul. Il Shin turned to Young and ordered, “Commander, take all of your men and go to Ki Chul’s house. Kill all who resist. All those there are Ki Chul’s puppets. Don’t leave any of them alive.” But Young didn’t respond. Offended, Il-shin said, “Why do you stand there? Are you one of his puppets, too?”

But the Commander still didn’t respond; he didn't take his orders from Il-shin. The King turned to him and asked, “Is that possible?”

He responded, “It is impossible.”

Il-shin blustered, “What? Your Highness, this man…” But the King motioned him to stop.

Young continued, “The 1,000 men of Eagle army guarding the palace and the 2,000 men of Tiger army are commanded by the Supreme Commander. I just heard that the Supreme Commander is at Ki Chul’s house. As your counselor just said, all those there are his puppets.”

Unmollified, Il-shin said, “Then summon the Sixth Army!”

Again addressing the King, Young replied, “Ki Chul’s army consists of thousands. His men will besiege this palace before that army can be mobilized. Turning to Il-shin he added, "And first and foremost, they will want your head as the King’s advisor. Shall I still attack them?”

That quieted Il-shin, but the King said, “Ki Chul is suspected of killing those who might side with me. Could he have done that?”

Young told him, “It is a possibility, but I cannot say for certain he did.”

Il-shin once again protested, “Why discuss such matters with a mere warrior like him? Listen to me, your counselor. I served you for 10 years in Yuan, and I have always been by your side, my King.”

But the King replied, “There is only one person I can trust under the sun.”

Thinking the King was referring to him, Il-shin grinned broadly, “Your Highness!”

But the King nodded to Young, “You, Commander.” At both of their surprised looks, he continued, “You proved it by giving up your own life to obey my orders. So now I will consider you as a trustworthy friend. Will you consider me likewise?” Both Il-shin and Young looked chagrined, but for different reasons.

A drawn and pale Young wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out a piece of folded paper and handed it to the King, who asked, “What is this?”

“A promise that the previous king gave to me.” As the King began to read it, the Commander explained, “Escorting you safely to Goryeo was my last mission. Once the King has safely arrived at the palace, I am allowed to resign and live outside the palace as a commoner. You can see the seal of the former king.” The King just looked at Young, stunned at his request. The Commander continued, “My King has safely arrived, thus my mission is accomplished. Allow me to leave the court.” He bowed to the King.

Shocked, the King replied, “Leave me alone in this place, amid these circumstances? _To abandon me_?!”

Young was exhausted, both in body and in spirit. “Your Highness, please, allow me.” And he bowed his head again.

Disappointed and angry, the King considered his answer. After a moment he said, “One last thing. Finish one more mission and then I’ll think about this.”

Young started to protest, “Your Highness, the former king…”

Curtly interrupting him, the King said, “Who is your King _now_ , me or the former king?” He continued, “Find me the evidence to prove who killed my officials and for what purpose. I must know who to fight against and why. It is my order, your _current_ King.”

And that was how Choi Young found himself in the room where 24 of the King’s advisors had died. He had directed the Woodalchi to conduct an intensive search there, looking for any clue that might help them learn why they were killed and who had done it. Young sat on a few stair steps while the others searched. He held himself up by sheer willpower. He looked pale and drawn, with Choon-sik came over and asked him if he was feeling all

Putting his hand to his bowed head, he answered tiredly, “I don’t know.”

Sitting down next to his Commander, Choon-sik spoke louder for emphasis. “Tell us what it is and we will find it! And please, go and take some rest! Let Jang Bin and the heavenly Doctor treat you.”

“Stop.” Young continued, “Stop raising your voice. My head hurts.”

Just then, Dae-man shouted, “I found it! I think this is it!” He ran over and handed a piece of paper to Choon-sik. The paper had writing on it and was spattered with what looked like dried blood.

Handing the paper in turn to Young, Choon-sik exclaimed, “We found the proof.”

Young looked at the paper, read the words on it, and then said, “Why is this a proof?”

“Well, the one dying here must have hidden it. There is blood on it, so someone bleeding hid it. So that’s proof that…”

Trying to be patient, Young asked, “Proving what?”

“Well…”

His Commander valued Choon-sik for his knowledge of fighting tactics, his loyalty and hard work, but solving this type of problem wasn’t his strong suit. Young decided to use the paper as a gambit he could take with Ki Chul, the most likely suspect in the plot. It might help him answer the King's question that he had to solve before leaving his service. He looked at his second-in-command and said, “We’re leaving.”

“Back to the court?”

“No, to the birthday party.”

Ki Chul’s banquet was still going strong and would continue well into the night. Choon-sik entered the room with Young right behind him. In a very loud voice, he announced, “The King’s order!” No one paid attention. He stepped to the middle of the room where Ki Chul sat. “Prince of the Court, Ki Chul! We bring you the King’s order!” The room quieted.

Without rising to his feet, an insult in itself, Ki Chul looked at his guests and added another. “Have you all heard him? Our King has come a long way from Yuan and before even taking a rest, has sent his congratulations to this party.” Then he rose from his seat while everyone laughed and clapped. He approached Choon-sik, who was looking around the room with dismay, and asked him with a grin, “What present has the King sent? I can’t wait to see what it is.”

Choon-sik stepped aside while his Commander came forward and stood in front of Ki Chul. Young paused. His vision had suddenly gone blurry. After a moment his vision cleared and he smiled at Ki Chul, who smiled back. Young addressed him, “Prince of the Court.”

“I’m listening.”

“This noisy party seems to have deafened you. You are receiving the King’s order. The King has returned to his land after 10 years, and this is his first official order.” The smile disappeared from Young’s lips. “So you should receive the command with respect, get on your knees, bow your head down, and receive your King’s order!” Young’s voice had risen to a shout.

They both stared at each other, Young with a fierce expression on his face and Ki Chul with a look of studied indifference. The rest of the room went quiet again. Young looked over at Choon-sik, who took out a scroll and gave it to Ki Chul. He snatched it from Choon-sik’s hand and held it up while sneering.

Even very ill and barely on his feet, Choi Young was a quick study. Ki Chul wasn’t about to bend a knee, and the Commander couldn’t afford to start a fight. He walked up to Ki Chul and bent down slightly, putting his face close to him. He smiled in a friendly way and in a much quieter voice said, “By the way, I can see you are celebrating. May I give you the annoying King’s order in a quieter place?” Ki Chul smiled and laughed. Young continued looking at him with a slight smile. But it was the cool smile of a killer. He wanted to run this man through for his insolence to the King, but none of that showed on his face except that slight smile.

The Commander and Ki Chul went to a private room and met briefly. Afterward, he and Choon-sik returned to the Woodalchi barracks. In the large common room there was a three-tiered set of wooden benches curved around the room for meetings. Young, not feeling any better, had removed his dress armor and put on more comfortable clothes. He was lying down on the top tier, resting. Other Woodalchi were in the room too, practicing fighting moves, talking, or just hanging out. Referring to their confrontation with Ki Chul, Choon-sik told his Commander, “You scared me to death. Where did you get that scroll? We never received an order to go to Ki Chul’s house!” Still lying on his back, Young tossed a scroll over to Choon-sik. It was a list of the murdered advisors, and the scroll he had had Choon-sik give to Ki Chul contained the same information.

Choon-sik asked, “Is this what you showed Ki Chul in your private meeting?”

“No, I showed him something different. A bait.” Sitting at a table with Ki Chul, he had shown him the paper they’d found with blood on it. Playing dumb, Young had told him, “I’m not a scholar and I’m not sure what it means, so I came here in search of your wise advice. That is the King’s order: to help me resolve this case. Would you like to copy it in order to study it?”

Choon-sik said, “So did he believe you?”

“I don’t know,” Young said in a tired voice. He didn’t move, he just wanted to rest.

“Will he take the bait?”

After a short pause he again responded, “I don’t know,” and turned his head away, trying to rest.

Ignoring the Commander’s warning signals, Choon-sik kept pressing his Commander, “If he doesn’t react to it…”

Young suddenly sat up and threw whatever he had at hand at Choon-sik. “Can’t you let me sleep?! All of you, get out!” He was known for his short temper, and being sick made him even more irritable. The group began to scatter as he sat there, glaring at them.

At that very moment Eun-soo entered the barracks with medical supplies in her large purse, which was also serving as a medical bag. She was determined to examine Young’s incision to see how badly it was infected. Dae-man saw her first. She asked him where his Commander was. He gulped, staring at her legs, then tentatively pointed down the hallway toward the main room. She had torn her pant leg when she skinned her knee, so she had simply cut off both pant legs above the knee so they’d be around the same length. It also helped her feel cooler in the heat of the day. As she continued into the main room, every man stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at her bare legs. When Young caught sight of her, he knew what was going on in the minds of his men, but she was ignoring all the stares, searching for Young. When her gaze landed on him, he irritably rolled his eyes and turned his face away. To him, she had walked half-nude into the middle of a group of men, and what’s more, she was going to harass him about his wound again. He was too tired and sick to be very tolerant.

Spying the Commander sitting on the top tier, she said, “Let me see you. Come down and sit.” Setting down her bag and opening it, she continued, “One thing I liked during my years as a resident, was that all patients came to me. I didn’t have to go to them.” Looking up at him, she ordered matter-of-factly, “Come down here.” But he didn’t even look at her; he just looked very annoyed. Seeing that he wasn’t moving, she climbed up the tiers. As she stood on the tier below him while he sat on the top one, they were almost face-to-face. Still trying to exert a doctor’s authority, she said, “Take off your jacket. Didn’t you hear me? Take it off. I need to check your heart rate and see how the wound is. Do you have a fever?” She reached for his wrist to take a pulse, saying, “Give me your hand,” but he casually slapped her hand away. She paused and then gave an exasperated laugh. “I’m not going to hold your hand. I’ll just check your pulse. I won’t hold it, don’t worry.”

He stared stonily at her for a moment, then called out to the other Woodalchi, “Who’s on sentry duty? Is this a marketplace where anyone can just walk in? Escort her back.” He stood up and strode down the tiers to the main floor. 

Dae-man called up to her, “We should go.”

Frustrated and angry, Eun-soo thought, “ _From the moment we started traveling back to Goryeo, he has never looked straight at me even once. When I talked to him, he ignored me. When I try to touch his hand, I get slapped away_.” She looked at Young’s retreating back and stepped down to the floor as well, angry and frustrated. She threw the supplies at him, yelling, “Hey, you crazy bastard!” Surprised, he turned to her as he put up an elbow to dodge the materials. She continued, with tears starting to run down her face, “What have I done so wrong?! It was you who kidnapped a person that was living well! I barely managed to buy an officetel last year. I still have to pay the mortgage, but I own it. I want to go home and take a nice bath, put on my pajamas and sleep on my own bed. _You_ brought me here!” And in a pitiable voice she added, “And you don’t even feed me!”

She cried, “I hoped it was just a dream, but it isn’t. Which means I really stabbed you! And I want to treat you, but you won’t even let me touch you. What do you expect from me?” Her voice took on an apologetic, almost pleading tone as he stared at her. “Okay, I stabbed you. And I’m sorry. I am very sorry. So let me treat you!”

He continued staring at her stoically for a moment without replying, then strode over to her, took her by the shoulders and pushed her up against a large wooden pillar, and held her there. She was taken aback by his intensity, his face just a few inches from hers. He let her go for a moment and turned to his men, staring at them. They had seen something they shouldn’t have, and they needed to leave for her sake. They got the message and left. He turned back to her. She tried to sidle away, but he slammed his hand on the pillar next to her, blocking her.

Finally, he spoke in a low voice. “So, what did I tell you before?”

Frowning resentfully, she responded, “About what?”

“At heaven’s door. The place where you stabbed me. I told you to leave me and go, right?”

“You think that makes sense?”

“Why did you save me?! Do you know what that has caused me?” She had forced him to live again, though he’d accepted his death, even embraced it. He looked down, trying to contain his frustration, and then turned away from her.

She countered, “So, do you want to die? Is that it? Is that what you want? You seem to have an infection, so sooner or later you’ll…”

He turned back to her, very angry. He couldn’t afford for that type of rumor to spread while he still had work to do. He snarled at her, “Do not open your mouth ever again to say I’m going to die. If you do, I will properly shut those lips of yours.” As he finishing speaking he inhaled her scent again. It made him pause momentarily and he quickly turned and began walking away from her. Once he was a few feet away he recovered himself and added, “Do not wander around the palace. And don’t come into a barracks full of men. My men will take you back. So wait there silently until I finish my work. Have you understood?”

Crushed by her guilt for stabbing him and discouraged by his stubbornness, she began to leave. But he still wasn’t done. “One last thing. Cover your lower body.” As she started to go past him, he held out his arm to block her way. “You may dress that way in heaven but on earth…”

Suddenly, she saw a way to gauge his temperature. She quickly grabbed his outstretched hand with both of hers. He tried to pull it away, but she hung on. He would have had to hurt her to get her to let go. Then she used one of her hands to feel her own forehead, comparing its temperature with his, and her eyes grew large with dismay. She cried, “You’re burning up with fever!” She let go as he finally pulled his hand away. She dug into her purse and took out a bottle with several tablets in it. She held it out to him. “These are my aspirins. They will help alleviate your fever and pain. Take two pills three times a day. It won’t be a great help, but still…”

Her voice trembled and her head was bowed so he couldn’t see her expression. He wondered if she was crying, not knowing what to do with her. In a small voice she said to him, “Don’t die.”

Stunned, he asked, “What?”

“Don’t die. I know that you are a psycho, crazy man… But if you die and leave me here alone…what would become of me?” She ended tearfully, “So please…” She picked up his hand and placed the bottle in his palm. He didn’t resist this time. Then she left.

He looked after her and then down at the bottle in his hand. She had stopped him in his tracks, touched by her last words. As if she knew his thoughts.

After a moment his illness reasserted itself with dizziness and a disabling stab of pain. He dropped to his knees, holding his stomach and gasping. Dae-man, watching from above, had seen the bloody cloth in his room and was very worried for his mentor.


	7. Episode 4, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Queen urges Choi Young to get treatment for his wound and the King offers a position to the Doctor. Ki Chul calls for a court session to meet the new king. The King asks Choi Young why he wants to leave his service.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Ki Chul was signing papers at his mansion while his physician and assistant, Yang-sa, related part of the conversation between the King and Choi Young. He was able to do that because one of the eunuchs attending the King was in their pay. “Yes, it’s true, the King told Choi Young that he was the only person the King trusted.” Intrigued, Ki Chul asked for more information about the Commander. He had seen him before in the court but hadn’t met him personally until the party. Yang-sa told him that Choi Young’s father was a descendent of an important contributor to the founding of Goryeo, and his grandfather was a literature scholar who taught a previous king.

“So why did such a son of fine lineage become a mere swordsman?” asked Ki Chul.

“Well, he was only 16 when his father died, and he went into the military. They say he became the youngest of the commanders in the Red Crescent Moon Army, that group of only the top men who used inner powers and sneaked into an enemy’s camp to attack. Because they came and went at night like ghosts, they were also known as the Ghost Moon Army. I heard that, just by seeing their flag, the Japanese army would run away and retreat.”

Ki Chul nodded, “Yes, I’ve heard of them and even how that great group was dismantled. But I didn’t know that Choi Young was one of its leaders!” A thought occurred to him, “Hm…Was he responsible for the failure to assassinate the Queen?”

“It seems likely. It couldn’t have been the King; he can’t even ride a horse!” chuckled Yang-sa.

Stroking his chin, Ki Chul made a decision. “I must have him.”

“You mean Choi Young?”

“Yes. Why didn’t I think of bringing one of the Red Crescent Moon members to my side until now? Offer him whatever he wants, money, power…Just bring him to me.” Without Choi Young at his side, the King would be much weaker, and Ki Chul would gain a skilled commander and warrior.

At the same time, the subject of their discussion had briefly dozed off in the common room of the Woodalchi barracks, exhausted from his confrontations with Ki Chul and then the Doctor. He dreamed he was standing on a frozen lake in the dead of winter. Looking around, he saw his beloved father sitting a little way off. He was ice fishing. In the dream, he walked up to his father, who turned and asked him, “Have you still not found it?” He had no answer to give him.

And then he awoke with tears in his eyes, gasping from the throbbing pain in his abdomen. He heard his name called, and quickly wiped his sleeve across his eyes. Choon-sik reported to him that everything had been done to deploy the Woodalchi around the palace. Although they had about 100 Woodalchi, their numbers were small, given the size of the palace compound and their need for multiple shifts per day. But Lady Choi had said she would take care of the Queen’s quarters. She maintained her own group of maiden warriors and attendants. That allowed the Woodalchi to focus solely on protecting the King.

As the Commander and a few other Woodalchi walked through the palace compound together, inspecting the deployment of their men, Choon-sik could tell that his Commander was very worried. He said, “Do you really think they would dare to harm the King and Queen here? After all, this is the palace and they are subjects.”

Young replied, “I used to think that way too, that if I brought them to the palace, they’d be safe. But I stopped thinking that after meeting Ki Chul yesterday. It was extremely…scary.”

“Excuse me?”

“You saw it yourself. At his banquet, when I tried to make him bend his knee in the name of the Royal order.”

Choon-sik still felt indignant about their reception. “Well, that. I was very angry. If we had pushed him further …”

Young interrupted him. “If we had done that, he would have attacked the King. If the situation turns to the matter of killing the King, then the first blood will flow from us, the Woodalchi. I don’t want to die like that.”

The Commander continued his inspection, ordering more archers on the west building roof.

Choon-sik asked, “Then are we going to leave those traitors alone, who deserve to die?”

Noting Choon-sik’s anger, Young told him, “Save your energy. We don’t know how long we’ll have to be on alert. So save it.” Then he nodded upward, “West building roof.”

With a resigned sigh, Choon-sik agreed, “Yes, Commander.” He left to handle the roof deployment. Young stopped to lean against a column, hardly able to stay on his feet.

Concerned, Dae-man approached him. “You’re not okay, are you? Earlier, the Doctor said…”

“Shut up. You heard it. We only have 100 men we can trust. And who will lead them if the man in charge falls ill?” Choi Young slid slowly down the column to rest at its base, waving Dae-man away when he tried to help. “Above all, if I collapse now, the enemy will feel emboldened.”

Eun-soo, meanwhile, had been taken in hand by Dr. Jang, who, after the debacle in the Woodalchi barracks, had some Goryeo clothes brought for her. She was an outgoing, talkative person, even more so when she was confused, frightened or anxious, and she’d been all of those ever since arriving in Goryeo. She was talking to Dr. Jang while trying on the new clothes behind a screen. “Okay, so this isn’t a dream… what is it then? Did I ride in some kind of time machine? But I didn’t see a machine. Maybe it was a wormhole!” She came out from behind the screen to show Dr. Jang what she was wearing, a top and bottom of smooth silk in a creamy color with a touch of pink. She thought it was lovely. But after one look at her, Dr. Jang turned away, asking her where the rest of the clothes were that he had given to her. When she replied that she’d just as soon not wear all those layers, he informed her that what she was wearing was underwear that other people shouldn’t see. Her face fell at that news, and she went back behind the screen to add more clothes, still wondering aloud how she had arrived in Goryeo. Perhaps it was a star gate or even a wormhole! She told him that she hated science fiction and fantasy, but she couldn’t explain what had happened otherwise. How could she have come there?

At last she was dressed in Goryeo clothing, a few layers topped by a heavier silk gown with a high collar that fastened in front. Dr. Jang brought her over to a table where he was consulting with Deo-ki. He explained that Deo-ki was an expert in herbs and medicines and took care of the herbal garden. They were working on a few medicines that removed toxins in the body, because Eun-soo had said Choi Young needed it. She examined the jars. One had a round disc in it and she was told it was “ _seom seo_.” She bit into it to see what it tasted like, just as he went on to explain it was part of a dried toad. “Aii! Pfft!” She quickly spit it out while Dr. Jang smiled. He explained the lengthy process of obtaining just the right part of the toad, wringing out the oil and then drying it through the night. It was used to treat abscess or inflammation. She thought it might be useful if the Commander would ever let them treat his infection. 

As for Choi Young, he was in a palace hallway when he heard a voice calling his name. It was none other than the Queen, accompanied by Lady Choi. She asked him to walk with her as she returned to her quarters. The Queen asked him, “Is it true that the people of this country wish for me and the King to die?”

He smiled to reassure her, “No, it is not.”

“Then, it is only some of them, Commander?”

He wasn’t sure where her loyalties lay, so he temporized, “I am only a warrior with no knowledge of politics.”

But she persisted. “I’m asking you.”

“First, could I ask you about one thing?”

“I’m listening.”

“When did you learn Goryeo’s language? It was two years ago that you were wedded to the King. You speak it too well to have learned it in just two years.”

“So are you saying that you’re reluctant to talk about Goryeo’s affairs to a Yuan Dynasty person?”

Apologizing and smiling ruefully, he said, “I overstepped my bounds. I take back my question.”

She turned to enter her quarters, and Young and Lady Choi followed.

The Queen answered him anyway. “It was eight years ago. I saw someone. He was from Goryeo. I started learning so that I could talk with him. Does that answer your question?”

She sat down and indicated that he should sit as well. He bowed and sat down. For propriety their chairs were at right angles to each other and they looked straight ahead as they spoke, not looking at the other person.

The Queen spoke again, “Now it’s your turn. Speak to me as honestly as I’ve spoken to you.”

He said, “There is only one person who would kill my King and Queen.”

She already knew. “The older brother of Empress Ki. Are you talking about him? His power is so strong like a storm. I heard that our strength is like a small flame compared to his.”

As she spoke, Young was surprised by her knowledge and turned to look at her, then looked ahead again as he replied, “I cannot say it isn’t true.”

Now she faced him. “If he kills us and becomes the King, you would be his bodyguard, right? Stay awake at night to protect him and throw away your life in battle for him.”

He admitted, “If I don’t die before then, that is probably what would happen.” A grim look came over his face as he spoke.

“Is that why you are trying to kill yourself?” Surprised again, Young looked at her. She continued, “You’re tired of this position you didn’t want and risking your life for this or that king…Is that why you’re thinking to die?” He looked down, unsure what to say. Her arrow had come very close to the mark.

The Queen stood, and when he went to get up as well, she put a graceful hand on his shoulder to keep him seated. Then, breaking all protocol for a Goryeo Queen and an adult male subject, she placed her hand on his forehead and held it there. The court would be scandalized. His eyes grew wide with alarm, and he started to protest, “Your Highness…”

But she interrupted him, saying, “You’re burning up. I heard you are refusing treatment.”

The court fed on rumor, and bad things could happen to a man who was thought to have an improper relationship with the Queen. Young wondered what the King would think. He pleaded, “Please, do not touch your servant, my Queen.”

After a few more seconds she did remove her hand, but commanded, “You must not die. That is your Queen’s order.” He looked up at her and she met his eyes firmly. He looked away, still stunned. She was the second person who seemed to know of his inner thoughts. Then he arose, bowed, and asked permission to leave, which she granted. Lady Choi had been present for all of this, and she hoped her nephew would obey his very astute Queen.

The King had also invited a guest to his chambers, the Doctor from Heaven. There was a large desk on a raised platform at one end of the room, and a long table in the center of the rest of the room for holding meetings. On it was a beautiful jade tea set. Around the room were other decorations such as vases, flowers, and art on the walls, some of it done by the King himself. When she entered the room, she spotted a large celadon vase on a side table. Goryeo-era celadon was very rare and nearly priceless in modern-day Korea. It occurred to her that, if she could bring one back with her, it might fund her new clinic all by itself. She wondered where she could buy one.

The King entered with Il-shin beside him, and he greeted her warmly. She bowed a bit awkwardly and gave a little curtsy.

“I heard you are a King…I’m not sure how to bow to you or anything…”

He graciously replied, “This is also my first time meeting someone from Heaven. I’m not sure how to address you politely. Why don’t we talk freely?” She agreed with a nod and smile.

They sat at the table and the King continued, “As soon as I returned to the palace, there were many things that I needed to attend to, so I wasn’t able to talk to you. How is your stay so far?”

Eun-soo was still in her talkative mode. She told the King and Il-shin that she wasn't the complaining type and then went on to complain. The food was too bland, they didn’t have kimchi, she wanted a hot bath… and finally stopped herself. The King looked a little disconcerted but directed one of his men to look into meeting her requests. Then he continued, “Divine Healer.”

“Yes...me?”

“I have a rather big request for you. I am asking you to be the High Doctor, _Eui Son_ , of this country.”

“What is that, Your Highness?” But before he could answer, she went on, “Wait, I have to go back to my place. I was kidnapped and then kidnapped again…and almost died…But I’ll forget about it. Instead, when I go, a Goryeo vase, and some paintings…if you let me take these items, I’ll consider it never happened.” She finished with a smile.

Il-shin smugly asked, “So how do you plan on returning?”

“The door that I came from?”

“Did you not see that door closing?”

“Can’t you just reopen it?”

“A thousand years ago, that door is the same door Hwata used. No one knows when it will reopen.”

Alarmed, she slapped the table. “That can’t be! How can you say that?! Then, what am I supposed to do?” Il-shin had no answer for her.

The King returned to his topic. “Doctor, this country has been under Yuan’s control for many decades.”

“I don’t really know history…”

“I know that people of this country have to work hard to meet Yuan’s demand for tributes every year, so their lives are not much better than death.”

Il-shin added, “It’s not only Yuan. Those who get their power from Yuan…”

Eun-soo jumped in again, saying, “Excuse me, it’s a bit impolite of me to say this, but, well, all politicians say that. That you care about the people. That you are the right one to solve the problem. Well…”

Il-shin stopped her. “Doctor! You’re in front of the King!”

But she was not to be deterred. Pointing to Il-shin, she cried, “You see? They all react like that when a citizen speaks up.” Both the Doctor and Il-shin glared at each other.

The King told Il-shin to be quiet, and continued, “Ever since Goryeo surrendered to Yuan, the previous six kings of this country had to use “Chung” [meaning “loyal”] in front of their posthumous names.” This had been a great humiliation to Goryeo.

She was thinking about what she had learned in school. “Posthumous names…Chung?”

“Especially, the preceding King, Prince Chung Kyeong or King Chung Mok.”

Talking aloud to herself, she wondered, “Chung Mok? If it’s Chung-something, this is the later era of Goryeo…”

Il-shin asked, “Later era? What later era?”

She asked, “What are the names of your predecessors?”

Il-shin recited, “Before Prince Chung Kyeong who is now exiled, King Chung Mok, then before him, King Chung Hae, and then…”

She clapped her hands, remembering. “Chung Hae! Chung Mok! Even though I was bad at history, I was fairly decent at memorizing the monarchs of Goryeo. Let’s see…” And she began to sing a ditty of the kings’ names to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”: Tae-Hye-Jeong-Gwang-Gyeong-Seong-Mok, Hyeon-Deok-Jeong-Mun-Sun-Seon-Heon. Suk-Ye -[umm]-[umm]- Chungyeol, Seon-Suk-Hae-Mok-Kyeong-Gong... Ok, Chung Mok, Chung Kyeong? Next would be Gong…Oh! You’re King Gongmin?”

Smiling, the King said, “The People of Heaven call me King Gongmin?”

Excited, she exclaimed, “Yes, after Chung Mok and Chung Kyeong comes King Gongmin. That’s what history says!”

Il-shin was excited too. “Oh! There is no Chung, Your Majesty! Yuan’s posthumous name, Chung, is gone from your name!”

Eun-soo continued remembering, “Then…if she’s the Yuan princess, she’s…Princess Noguk? If it’s true, then this is awesome! King Gongmin and Queen Noguk, you two are very famous!” Both the King and Il-shin were beaming. She pointed to the King and went on, “You draw well, don’t you?”

“Drawings, a little…”

“I saw one of your paintings! In your shrine in Mapo [a district of Seoul], they exhibit your paintings. Choi Young’s shrine is next to yours.”

Il-shin was brought up short by her last statement. “Are you talking about the Woodalchi Commander? How would he be known in the heavens?” He scoffed at the very idea.

But she suddenly cried, “Did you say _Commander_? That…person who kidnapped me… the psycho I stabbed… Who did you say he was?! And they affirmed to her that, yes, the Commander’s name was Choi Young. He had told her his name when they were about to go through the portal, but it hadn’t registered in a mind overwhelmed with terror. Now, she was stunned, not quite able to believe her ears. She wondered if it was possible there was more than one Choi Young.

Word quickly spread about the Doctor’s knowledge of the Goryeo kings, first among the King and Queen’s attendants, then throughout the palace, and finally to the city. And, of course, to Ki Chul at his mansion.

Yang-sa was telling Ki Chul the latest news from the palace while giving him a facial treatment. “A doctor from the heavens came down? That doctor can bring a dead person back to life, and foresee the future of the country, too?” Chuckling, he scoffed, “A new king who is served by that kind of doctor from the heavens? Even if the people are ignorant, would they believe such words?!”

Hwa Su-in came in, having just arrived from the frontier village where the Queen had been attacked. She asked, “What’s this? What are you doing?” Yang-sa explained the treatment he was giving Ki Chul. As a final step, the cloth covering his face needed to be heated to drive the herbal essences into his skin. She volunteered to take care of that and set a small flame atop the cloth with her hand. She teased, “I’m enjoying setting you on fire, Brother!” He didn’t laugh but didn’t seem concerned, either. After a few more seconds, the cloth was removed by a servant.

After Ki Chul's treatment was finished, they continued talking about the Doctor from heaven. Hwa Su-in verified that she had heard the same information about the Divine Doctor saving the princess when she had gone to the frontier village.

Ki Chul asked her, “You didn’t see this with your own eyes, but only heard?”

“If I had seen that, I would’ve brought her, not left her.”

Yang-sa declared, “It’s not possible!”

“It’s not important whether it’s true or not. If ignorant people start to believe that story, it would become bothersome,” noted Ki Chul.

Hwa Su-in asked, “I heard she’s in the palace. Should we bring her here? Or should I burn her?” She giggled at the thought.

“No, but I think I need to reopen the Court tomorrow. Tell the officials that I’ll meet the King. But before that, I have a job for you…” as he looked at his pledged sister.


	8. Episode 4, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young encounters a women wielding fire power. The King asks Choi Young to tell him why he wants to leave the King's service. Choi Young collapses from his infected wound.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Dr. Jang sat at a table across from Young, looking at the blood-stained paper they had recovered from the room where the advisors had died. Young asked him, “If this is the blood of those who were poisoned to death, or if it’s normal blood, could you distinguish between the two?”

“It’s easy to tell if something is poisoned, but… it’s a little…strange.”

“What do you mean, ‘strange’?”

“First, we’ll have to find out if this blood even belongs to a person.”

“You’re saying it might not be human blood?”

“Could I take this to test?”

“Yes, of course.”

They were sitting on a balcony in the palace, and while they talked, Young had noticed a few Woodalchi on the floor below them talking animatedly together. After the doctor left, he went downstairs to see what was so interesting to them.

“Ju-seok. What was that?”

“Excuse me?”

“The thing you were chatting about.”

“Ah, that’s…”

Young insisted, “What is it?”

“Well, they didn’t believe me.”

“What?”

“About the High Doctor. We told them you brought her from the heavens. That we saw it with our own two eyes. But they won’t believe it – ooof!”

Young angrily kicked him, sending him to his knees. “Have I not told you to keep your mouths shut? Who is it? The person who first talked about her.”

Dol-bae protested, “It wasn’t us. It was from the King’s Quarters.”

“What?!”

“They are all talking about it. By now, this story probably has spread outside.”

Dol-bae added, “Right now, people in the markets are talking about it…That a divine healer from the heavens came down to the earth, and with the Heaven’s medical skill, she saved the Queen and showed the future. We only answered their questions.”

Ju-seok, still on his knees from the kick, defended his comrades. “People asked if it was true, so we said, ‘Yes.’”

Alarmed, Young left them. He needed to check on the High Doctor to ensure her safety.

He headed toward the Herbal Medicine House to find her. There, Lady Choi was already showing the High Doctor her new quarters adjacent to the herbal facility. It was a nicely appointed room with a large window and her own entrance. Eun-soo was carrying a large celadon vase that the King had given to her. Lady Choi offered to show her other quarters that were even larger, and Eun-soo said yes, she loved to look at houses. Just as they were heading out, Young appeared. She almost ran into him, saying, “Ah, hello!”

He turned, put his arm to her back and pushed her down the hall where they could talk privately. Lady Choi protested, “H-Hey! Young!” but didn’t follow them.

As they walked, Eun-soo asked, “Is your name Choi Young?”

He ignored her question but said with urgency, “I cannot leave the court, but my men can take you out…”

“Take me out?”

He spoke urgently, “You must leave now. It is dangerous here. There will be people who will try to take you.” He was thinking about where he could put her so she would be safe.

“Who is? Why?”

Young was sick, worried, and irritable. In his whole life he had never met a woman who questioned and talked back at every word he said. He told her, “Just do what I say!”

“Wait!” She broke away from him, still holding her vase. “Why do I have to do what you tell me to do? Someone has my back! Guess who that is? It’s the King himself,” she boasted. “He asked me to become head of the Royal Hospital.” She taunted him, “So if I ask ‘Why’, shouldn’t you give me an answer? I heard you’re not even an Army General. Maybe your rank is only as high as a Captain? Or Lieutenant Commander at the most?”

Out of what little patience he had, he called, “Deo-ki.” She came immediately. He asked her, “I need a sack.” She took one out. He continued, “Tie her so I can carry her. She’s very talkative, so close her mouth, too.” Eun-soo lost her superior air and began to look worried. Deo-ki was only too happy to do it. Deo-ki began to restrain Eun-soo, but Dr. Jang, having heard loud voices, came and stopped her.

He told the Commander, “It was His Highness’ order. The Medical Office is in charge of taking care of her.” Eun-soo leaned against Dr. Jang, looking at Young with an air of defiance.

Young knew there was no way that she could be sufficiently protected in this medical setting, with many people coming and going at all hours. He commented, “Jo Il-shin, this must be his doing.”

Dr. Jang replied, “But still, it was a command.” As if to emphasize the point, Eun-soo thrust the vase out to demonstrate the King’s favor.

Standing there, Young’s vision suddenly blurred. He shook his head and tried to take a step. He stumbled, losing consciousness, and fell to the floor. Eun-soo shouted, “Hello? Choi Young!” and dropped her precious vase, shattering it.

Young awoke laying on a table in the Royal Medical Office. Both Dr. Jang and Eun-soo were there with him. He started to sit up but gasped from the pain in his abdomen. Dr. Jang said, “Let me help you,” and helped him sit up the rest of the way. Young still felt terrible.

The Commander asked Dr. Jang, “How long did I sleep?”

“It’s only been about an hour since you fainted.”

Stubbornly, he said, “I didn’t faint.” He pulled his black undershirt closed and began to tie it.

“All right. Nobody knows that you slept _as if you fainted_ , besides Deo-ki, me and that person.” He indicated Eun-soo, sitting a few feet from the table. Young looked around at her.

She added, “There was an infection in the place where we did surgery. Because of that infection, you have a fever.” Dr. Jang had applied a herbal concoction to his incision, and she asked him, By the way, do those herbs really help?”

“I thought you already gave up treating him,” responded Dr. Jang.

“Only because there is no medicine here I’m familiar with.”

Dr. Jang addressed Young, “I made more medicine. Please wait.”

Eun-soo got up from her chair, picked up the Commander’s outer clothes and gave them to him to put on. She commented, “Your abdominal muscles are really good indeed. I worried a lot when I opened your abdomen, if other organs also got injured. But luckily there was damage only at the liver. It was thanks to your well-developed six pack.”

While he got dressed, she continued, “Your name is Choi Young? There’s no other person named Choi Young in Goryeo, right? Well, you’ll become an Army General later on and you’ll accomplish a lot of things. So if I really went through a time warp, it means those things will happen, since the history I know says so. Anyhow, you must remain alive so that you protect Goryeo, go to war, and get remembered by history.”

He turned to her, intrigued. “Is that true? That you can foresee the future?”

“I don’t think I came from heaven. I think I came from the future.”

“From the future?”

“If you die here because of what I did, I feel like something really bad will happen. You can see things like that in movies, where history becomes all screwed up, or - ”

Suddenly, the Commander looked up at a nearby window, then grabbed the Doctor and pushed her to the floor, covering her with his body. Hwa-su-in had come there and had thrown one of her explosive balls through a window and into the room, where it blew up. Her fireballs didn’t cause much damage, but they were very loud and startling. If they hit someone directly, they would cause burns. He quickly ran his eyes over the Doctor to assure himself that she wasn’t hurt, told her, “Stay here,” and then released her. He looked over the table to see Hwa-su-in throw another ball at the returning Dr. Jang, who deflected it with his fan.

Young immediately reached for his sword but Eun-soo grabbed his shirt and asked, “Where are you going?” He only told her that he’d come back later. She let go of his shirt as she realized he had no fear; he was made for fighting. He went after Hwa-su-in, who had turned to leave as soon as she saw Young start to follow her. Dr. Jang stayed behind to comfort and protect Eun-soo. “Are you all right? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

With her hands over her head and big round eyes, she whispered, “X-men!”

“What?”

“That woman, she’s an X-Man! Supernatural powers!” Then she hugged Dr Jang for support. Just then Deo-ki came in and saw them hugging. She held a secret fondness for Dr. Jang, so she became even less enamored of Eun-soo, if that was possible.

Hwa-su-in was headed for a broad parapet running along one of the palace walls. She had deliberately provoked Young to follow her so she could convey Ki Chul’s offer to him privately. When she saw him closing in on her, she threw another ball at him to keep him coming, which he deflected with his sword. She turned a corner and couldn’t see him when she looked back. But he had climbed onto the roof overhanging the parapet to avoid the explosive balls and get ahead of her. He suddenly dropped down right in front of her. She was surprised and then pleased. He really was a stunning-looking man, and she enjoyed toying with handsome men. As she backed up to put a little room between them, she said, “Woodalchi’s Choi Young. Right?”

But he was all business, angry that she had threatened the High Doctor. He drew his sword and said, “Leave the greetings for later,” and slashed at her, driving her further backward.

“Fine,” she smiled while she heated up another ball behind her back. She tossed it at him, hoping to get him to back off a bit. Again he deflected it. They circled, taking each other’s measure.

She smiled flirtatiously, “How scary! I have a message for you…It’s a secret message just for you.”

He decided she must be one of Ki Chul’s minions. He thrust his sword directly toward her throat. “There is nothing I want to hear from you.”

Continuing to back up toward the edge of the parapet, she still teased, “Don’t be so harsh!”

He thought he had her. “Then, die.”

To avoid his stroke, she backed to the edge of the parapet, then turned and jumped, saying over her shoulder, “See you soon!” She descended to the ground, her red cloak spreading out while she used her inner power to slow her fall.

He looked over the edge to see her smile up at him before walking away. He had no energy to pursue her.

That night the King went to the medical facility to learn more about what had happened earlier in the day. He had asked Young to come there, and when he arrived, said, “I heard about the attack. Could they have wanted the Doctor?”

The Commander replied, “We know Ki Chul has people that can use fire and sound as weapons. I believe she was one of them.”

“Is the High Doctor safe?”

Young smiled and said, “Thanks to the King’s protection.”

The King laughed. “It seems like you also tell white lies yourself. How is it thanks to my protection that the Healer is safe? She could have died because of me but you saved her.” They looked at each other in silent acknowledgement.

Young also had news for the King about the bloody paper they had found. The Commander showed it to him and said, “We found this hidden in the room where they died. The blood from this secret note seems like someone, attacked by poison, vomited on it.” Young arose from his chair and went to a nearby table with a large piece of paper on it. He continued, “However, Dr. Jang said the result of a test verifies that the blood is not the blood of a human.” He lifted the lid of a box containing several live centipedes, and shook the box over the paper, dropping them onto the white paper. He then took out his knife, turned away, made a small cut on his hand, and dripped a little of his own blood on the paper while the King watched.

“Centipedes usually do not react when they touch human blood.” And indeed the centipedes paid no attention to Young’s fresh drops of blood on the paper. “There’s another blood that centipedes like.” He put the bloody paper they’d found down near the centipedes, and they immediately began crawling toward it. The King stood up, looking in surprise at what they were doing. Young told him, “It’s chicken blood.”

“Then the blood stains on this letter are chicken blood?”

“Yes.”

“Then that means someone planted this after killing the officials. But who and why?”

“It must be someone who wants this to become evidence. You just need to wait. That person will come to you. That was the purpose of this false evidence. ”

“Then I will show this to him and reveal it as false?”

“You could do that or act like you didn’t know. It is my King’s decision.”

“If I reveal the lie, then it means I will fight him. If I pretend I don’t know, that would mean I will surrender to him. And it is up to me to choose?”

“Yes.”

“So when he comes, and whatever decision I make, you will leave the palace, since you’ve done what I asked you?”

“As my King allows me.” He bowed to the King.

Exasperated, the King asked, “Leave no matter what?” Young didn’t answer but stayed in his bow, confirming his request.

As they talked, Eun-soo walked by the room and overheard them. This was the first time she’d seen Young after he left to pursue Hwa-su-in. She was gratified to see that he was all right, although he was very pale. She stayed to listen, their voices carrying through the wooden grill dividing their room from where she was.

The King wanted Young to stay. “Is your reason that I commanded you to kidnap the Doctor and then forced you to break your word? Has that hurt you so much? I needed someone whom I could trust. And I had to find out if you could be that one person. And I wanted to strengthen my position by introducing the Doctor to the people, even though I knew it would put her in danger. Was that such a big disappointment?”

Young had been looking down while the King spoke. “I’ve been wishing to leave the palace for a long time.”

The King said, “Convince me.”

Looking at the King, he said, “It’s not worthy of your concern, Your Highness. A trivial matter.”

But the King pressed him, “If you don’t wish to speak to a king, then talk to me as your friend. I am asking you sincerely.”

Choi Young looked down again with a bleak expression on his face. The reason he wanted to leave had a tragic story behind it. He began, “I used to be in the Red Crescent Moon army. No class or gender mattered. We all had the best skills. We stood together to protect Goryeo. That was our only passion. To me who had lost a father, they were family. The captain was both master and a father to me. The members were my brothers and sisters. We used to find enemy ships and burn them, or we assassinated their captains by breaking in from the back door.

“Even though we were skilled warriors, there were many of them and few of us. Making our name a terror to throw the enemies into confusion had its limits. We received no supplies or auxiliary troops. At one time there were more than 70 of us. Soon, we lost half of us. The only thing we were given was the next mission. In the beginning, we were given reliable intelligence. I don’t know if the enemies got smarter or we had problems with our allies, but we were entrapped more and more often.

“One spring, the top officers of the Red Moon army were summoned by His Majesty. We were very excited, wondering what reward we would receive for our service, perhaps a horse for each person. It felt…like a dream. They placed us in rooms with fine linens and decorations. After being in the field for so many years, it was amazing. I thought our Captain might even receive a high position in the Court.

“Before we met with the King, the Captain told us, ‘You will meet the Emperor today. He is the King we have protected with our lives. He might not be the king you’ve imagined. So remember our brothers and sisters waiting outside the court. We are going to be representatives, each one of us. So act prudently in front of the King.’

“The King was having a banquet. There were many women there, some dancing, a great deal of food and wine, and talking and laughing. We walked in and knelt before him. It was a few moments before the King saw us. He was busy with the woman next to him. When he finally noticed us, he said, ‘So who are you?’

"Our Captain replied, ‘Your subject, Leader of the Red Crescent Moon, Moon Chi-wook. Together with my officers, Your Majesty.’

"‘Ahh! Red Crescent Moon Army. I remember!’ The King got up from his seat at the banquet table and came toward us. ‘Yes, come on in!’ He appeared to have drunk a great deal of wine. He staggered and almost fell as he came toward us.

“He came up to the Captain and laughed. ´I’ve heard you all are so gallant.´ He told us to stand up. He saw the Captain’s sword, pulled it out of its scabbard and looked at it. ‘Let’s see. How many have you killed with this? Ten? A hundred?’ and he swiped it through the air several times. Some of us had to step back to avoid being cut.

“Then he noticed Mae Hee. She and I were…companions. He was surprised there was a woman in our group. He asked about her, wanting to know if she used martial arts. The captain said yes, and that she was especially good at interception. The King commented that this was the first time he’d seen a woman fighter and how interesting that was. He examined her very closely, and said she didn’t look any different from other women on the outside. Then he told her to take off her clothes, that he wanted to see what was in there. When she hesitated, the King threatened her with the sword. She began to remove her clothes, down to her underclothes. Then she stopped. I had started to move to protect her several times, but the Captain put his hand in front of me each time to stop me. The King grew angry, calling her a disloyal subject and began to cut the straps off her remaining clothes. But the Captain interposed his body between her and the King. The King grew very angry, saying that we were arrogant, and that he had heard that the commoners trusted us more than him, the King. That the Captain had stolen the love and trust of the people from him. The Captain tried to tell him that it wasn’t like that, but the King was enraged. He told Mae Hee again to disrobe completely, and when she still hesitated, he tried to run her through with the sword. But the Captain again stepped between them, and the sword stabbed my teacher instead. The King was shocked but not regretful. He only seemed amazed at the sharpness of the sword and how easily it had gone into the Captain’s body.

“With his great strength the Captain pulled the sword out of his abdomen, his blood spilling out on the floor. I stepped forward, filled with anger, but the Captain turned and put his sword to my neck. He told me to back off, and to give my word to the King that, from then on, we would be the King’s shadow, that we would protect the King. Then he stepped close to me and whispered that it was the only way we could save the Red Crescent Moon, that I must protect my comrades. He demanded my answer…and I vowed to do what he asked. Then the Captain knelt and apologized to the King and asked for his forgiveness. He said, ‘They are yours, Your Majesty. Keep them by your side and allow them to protect you.’” Young couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice as he said, “And then… my Captain died there, kneeling. The rest of us prostrated ourselves before the King.”

After Young finished his story, the King sat silently for a few moments. He couldn’t speak, utterly appalled that a king would treat such dedicated men, heroes really, with such vicious caprice. At last he said, “So that’s how you became the Commander of the Woodalchi. How long has it been?”

“Seven years.”

“How many of the Red Crescent Moon are left in the court?”

“Some left. Some died. Now only I remain.”

“So, now that you have no more to protect, you will leave?”

“Yes.”

“The one who killed your teacher must have been the Late King, Chung Hae, my older brother.”

“Yes.”

“You must have hated me from the start, as his younger brother.” Young remained silent. “So, after you leave the palace, what are you going to do?”

“First, I will take the High Doctor to the door to heaven. I owe her that. While I wait for the door to open, I am thinking of becoming a fisherman.” For the first time in their conversation a disarming smile crept to Young’s lips as looked directly at the King and said, “I am quite good at catching fish.”

“After you repay that debt, what’s next?”

Returning to his bleak expression, the Commander said, “I am still searching for a purpose.”

The King stood up and so did the Commander. He told Young, “But you have not yet done all that I have asked you. Remember that.”

“Your Majesty, that – “

“You do not need to see me off. Because I do not have the honor to face you right now.” Young bowed as the King left.

As soon as the King had left the room, Eun-soo watched Young start to collapse. He bent over, gasping and holding his stomach with one arm while trying to stay on his feet by leaning on the table with his other arm. She thought he must have been in terrible pain the whole time he met with the King. She cried, “Psycho!... Psycho!” and ran to him. Dr. Jang, Choon-sik and Dae-man, who had been leaving with the King, heard her cries and turned back. Young had fallen to the floor and was beginning to convulse. Eun-soo put her hand to his cheek to feel his temperature and said to the others, “He’s showing signs of shock. Raise his legs for me. We have to help the blood flow to his brain and heart.” Choon-sik pulled a bench seat over and placed his legs on it. She said to Dr. Jang and Deo-ki, who had also come into the room, “We need some salt and sugar water. And some blankets to keep him warm.” She wondered how on earth he had kept functioning in his condition. He’d even embraced and protected her with his own body and then pursued the fire woman.

The others ran to get the things she’d requested, while Choon-sik stayed and asked, “The Commander, what is wrong with him?”

“He’s having a seizure. I wish I had oxygen to give him, and a vasopressor [medicine that increases blood pressure].”

They brought a small cup of water. She raised his head and tipped the cup to his mouth. But he was shaking so badly she could get only a little of it into him.

Looking at him she lamented, “I can’t believe this. I have nothing to help him.”

Dr. Jang took his pulse and noted that it was fast and very weak.

Choon-sik called to him, “Commander, can you hear me?” But Young didn’t respond. He had returned to his dream of the frozen lake and was sitting next to his father, fishing. Some of his fondest memories of his father were of ice fishing together. He asked, “Father, can I stay here? Just…here…with you.” He felt at peace there.

They placed him on a table, warmed him as best they could with blankets, and set special incense around the room to aid his breathing. An assistant brought in the detoxification tonic Dr. Jang had requested. But Dr. Jang could hardly feel a pulse. He sighed, wondering, “Does this person … have thoughts of not returning?”


	9. Episode 5, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King holds his first court audience, and the Doctor takes on Ki Chul. They operate on Choi Young again to treat his infection. The King makes a bet with Ki Chul.

**Goryeo Royal Palace, Gae Kyeong**

Eun-soo and Dr. Jang reluctantly left Young in the care of other doctors, since they had been summoned to attend the King’s first audience with his advisors and nobles. Lady Choi helped Eun-soo dress appropriately and make her way to the throne room, where she waited to be introduced to the court.

The King and Queen were also making their way to the court, walking about five feet apart. They were a contrasting pair: the tall, willowy princess from Yuan with delicate features and an elaborate headdress, and the shorter King with a serious, scholarly face. He wore no headpiece, his hair simply braided into a long queue down his back, trimmed with gold cloth that matched the color of his robe. The King suddenly stopped walking, and that obliged the Queen to stop as well. Both of them remained facing forward, not looking at the other one.

He said, “I have not made up my mind what to do, but no matter what I choose, you will not like what you see."

“Of what are you speaking?”

“One, I might choose to be brave, and have the throne snatched away. Then your life will be in danger, too. And the other choice. If I lower my head and become an object of ridicule, I can maintain this throne. Which one will you find more bearable?”

“Neither of them.”

He nodded, “I thought so.”

She asked, “Where is the Woodalchi Commander?”

“He is unable to come due to an illness.”

“Is it an illness?” 

The King turned to her and said, “As he cannot come, we must go with a third plan. It involves the Doctor from Heaven.

Given their relationship, she was surprised that he would confide even this much to her, and she told him so. He replied that whatever he suffered, whether it was ridicule or death, she would suffer it also. They held each other’s eyes for a moment, then faced forward once again and continued down the hall to the throne room.

As the royal couple entered the throne room, the remaining advisors stood and bowed as they walked to the royal dais. The King turned and sat on the golden throne. The Queen sat down in a chair to his left, with Dr. Jang standing by her side. The King invited everyone to be seated. There was an small area to his right where there was usually another chair, but that area had been covered by a curtain.

Once everyone was seated, one of Ki Chul’s minions, Ja-won, spoke, “Your Majesty the King, Your Highness the Queen. Seeing your royal selves in good health, I am very thankful to the Heaven’s protection.” Everyone bowed to the King again.

The King planted a smile on his face, knowing virtually all of the advisors there were loyal to Yuan and Ki Chul, and spoke for the first time to the assembled Court. “Are you? It is so. I am also thankful for Heaven’s protection.” While the King spoke, Il-shin kept nodding his encouragement, knowing what the King was going to say because the third plan had been his idea. The King continued, “I’m not sure if you heard the news, but the path from Yuan to here, this royal palace, was quite perilous. For a moment the Queen almost lost her life.”

He looked around the room and asked, “Why do you look so surprised? You all heard of it. Hwata’s heavenly gate opened and a heavenly healer was sent to save the Queen.”

The King motioned to his right and a eunuch raised the narrow curtain there. It revealed the High Doctor, seated, with Lady Choi standing next to her. She had been told to get ready for a meeting, but she was surprised at the size of the all-male audience staring at her. Intimidated by suddenly being the object of so many stares, she turned aside, starting to rise to her feet to leave, but Lady Choi discretely but firmly pushed her back down in the chair.

The King continued his speech. “I have thought about it again and again. What does this mean? Why did heaven choose this Goryeo, of all countries? Why did heaven send a heavenly doctor to this poor King?” And indicating the High Doctor, he asked his courtiers, “What do you think? Moreover, this heavenly healer has spoken about the things I will do for this country. The future of Goryeo is written in the books of heaven. Don’t you want to hear what she has to say?” The advisors controlled by Ki Chul looked worried. He was strengthening his hand quite effectively.

Then Ki Chul made his entrance from the far end of the room, announcing, “This is quite outrageous!” As he walked up the center aisle toward the King, the advisors bowed to him as low as they had previously bowed to the King. He continued, “Your Majesty, I am Ki Chul, Prince of the Court from Deokseong. I came running here to be in the King’s audience.” Stepping onto the dais, which was disrespectful to the King, he stated, “But I’ve heard a very odd story. A gate to Heaven. A Heavenly Healer. Even a High Doctor.” By the time he finished speaking, he was practically next to the King on the dais. Woodalchi guards had begun to stop him, but the King had waved them back.

Ki Chul continued, “My King is still very young, and has stayed far from his homeland for a long time. Things might be confusing. But you are still the King.” He turned to the court and began to shout, “Who has dared…Who has dared to whisper such drivel to His Highness to confuse his mind?!” He pointed at Eun-soo and shouted, “The wily one there? You…The one in the form of a woman…Answer me!”

The Doctor didn’t know what to do. She turned aside and started to get up from her chair, and once again Lady Choi restrained her. Dr. Jang urgently whispered from across the dais, “Please don’t run away. If you run, you will die.”

She replied to him, “I don’t think he’d really…”

Ki Chul called again, “You wily thing! Did I not say to answer!” She was shocked at the vehemence in his voice.

But at that point the King interjected himself in an attempt to redirect the conversation. He smiled and chuckled, “It was predicted.” Arising from his throne and looking at Ki Chul, he continued, “So you are that Prince of the Court from Deokseong! When I was in Yuan, your sister, Empress Ki, told me much about you. I know very well it is thanks to you and your sister that I am here today.

Looking doubtful, Ki Chul replied, “You know it's because of us?”

“Yes. Empress Ki said this as I left to return here from Yuan. Upon returning to my homeland, Prince of the Court from Deokseong would take care of everything for me. That I need not worry.” As the King continued speaking, he walked down off the dais and down the center aisle, addressing the court officials seated on either side. “That I must not be surprised if you seem to show disrespect to me by stepping right up to my throne. To calm the officials if they seem to be astonished at your actions." He looked back at Ki Chul and continued with a friendly smile. “Because your actions are not that you lack loyalty to the crown. In fact, your allegiance is so great that you cannot control your passion.” The King turned back to the courtiers while pointing to Ki Chul. “See? Look at how he ran here so worried that I might have been in danger. What loyalty!”

But the other man was not to be put off by the King's attempt to reframe Ki Chul's statements. He came down from the dais, chuckling, “So then, Your Majesty is trying to say that thing is indeed from Heaven? Do you really believe such drivel?”

At that point the Queen spoke up, since she had been the beneficiary of the Doctor’s attention. She addressed Ki Chul and the Court, “I believe it. I am your Queen, the daughter of the King of Yuan. On my journey here, an assassin was sent and my neck was cut by a sword.” She tore the bandage from her neck, exposing the stitches, and continued, “This is the neck that High Doctor attached again. Is there another doctor with such skill on earth?”

Dr. Jang again whispered across the dais to Eun-soo, “You must show them that you’re someone from heaven.”

Frustrated, she whispered back, “So what am I supposed to do?”

Lady Choi leaned down and said in a low voice, “Don’t cry and don’t be shaken.”

Dr. Jang added, “Act as you do in Heaven.”

Ki Chul picked up again, saying, “My young and innocent King. And his Queen. Who had you believe that, Woodalchi’s Choi Young? Did he bring that wily one to you, saying that she is from heaven? That is what I have heard. Isn’t that right?” The King looked away, unsure how to respond. Ki Chul addressed the ministers, “Where is Woodalchi’s Choi Young?” His voice rose to a fevered pitch, “Drag that treacherous and disloyal criminal here at once!”

At last Eun-soo rose to her feet as Choi Young's doctor, feeling more confident in that role. “That’s impossible!”

Ki Chul looked at her with a triumphant smile. “So the wily thing even talks?”

She continued, “Choi Young, the Commander…he is my patient. No one can take him without my permission.”

Then she went to sit down again, but Ki Chul took a few steps toward her. “What?! You witch!”

The Doctor's anger at this man's baseless attack on her began to overcome her fear. She had had to put up with pompous bullies when she was a resident in training, and she decided he was just another one. She stood up again. “Watch what you say! How dare you curse and use informal language with me!” Gathering steam, she stalked up to him, looking him in the eye. “Oh, seriously! I don’t know how I ended up dragged to this godforsaken ditch, but at my age, I have to be cursed at?! How old are you?”

Unused to being challenged by anyone, much less by a woman, he stuttered, “W-what?”

“I am a cosmetic surgeon in Gangnam. That means I’ve dealt with enough nasty people threatening me all the time, and I know how to deal with them. Do you think I’m being nice because I don’t know how to curse? I’m holding back since we’re in front of the King, so let’s drop it here.” While she spoke, the King, Queen, Lady Choi and Dr. Jang all looked at each other, wondering where this confrontation would go. When she finished speaking to Ki Chul, she turned to the King and asked his permission to leave, saying she had a patient to attend to. With a nervous smile the King quickly gave it.

But Ki Chul wasn’t about to give up. As she went to leave, he stepped in front of her. Startled, she rebuked him, “You scared me!”

In a menacing voice he snarled, “You wicked thing…do you want to die?”

Instead of responding to him directly, she turned to the King. “You said his name was Ki Chul, right?” The King nodded. Then she pointed at him, saying, “Now I remember. Ki Chul, Empress Ki, King Gongmin. That’s right! It was all on the exam!”

She turned back to the King, explaining, “You might not be able to tell, but I was a good student then.” Then she turned back to Ki Chul, sneering, “Anyway, Yuan’s going to collapse soon…” She started to sing a little ditty reciting the Chinese dynasties, counting them off on her fingers: “Tang, Tang, Liao, Yuan, Ming, Southern Song…”  
She announced, “So, it’s Ming Dynasty next.” Everyone in the court looked shocked. This was astounding news.

She stepped right up to her accuser and continued, “Soon, the land of Yuan will die and Ming will come in! Yeah, that’s right. I even remember how you will die, Ki Chul. But I won't tell you. Why? Because you’re rude!”

She put her finger in his face and said, “Hey, F…k you, go to hell!” Then she turned away and left Ki Chul standing there, stunned by this feisty woman and her predictions. The King dismissed the Court soon after, all abuzz with the idea of the Yuan Dynasty ending soon and Ki Chul having been cursed by the Heavenly Doctor.

But once she had left the throne room through a side door, the Doctor stumbled and nearly collapsed from the tension of the confrontation with Ki Chul. Dr. Jang caught her. He was smiling broadly and told her, “Well done. You overachieved!”

The two doctors returned to the Royal Hospital to attend to their patient, who was still unconscious. Dr. Jang asked her if she was going to be Choi Young’s doctor again. She said her involvement was only to ensure that he didn’t die, because if he died, she wasn’t sure who would help her return. Looking at his incision, they found that it was very infected, oozing pus and surrounded by grayish tissue. She opened the incision again in order to clear the pus and remove dead tissue. Then they infused it with a concoction of Dr. Jang’s to sterilize the wound, which Dr. Jang said would also help the living tissue heal.

While they were operating, Young dreamed again of the frozen lake and his father. This time his father asked him, “Is she…still in your heart?” Young smiled tenderly and answered, “She is still there. I cannot let her go.” His dream changed to a fond memory of being with Mae Hee, practicing their fighting skills together and vowing to love and protect the other one. In the dream he leaned down to kiss her, but she suddenly disappeared. Then the dream turned to nightmare as he repeated the dreadful discovery that she had hung herself from a tree, unable to bear the shame of feeling responsible for their leader’s death. Added to his overwhelming grief was his own sense of shame that his master instead of him had been the one to protect her from that king's predation, and that she evidently didn't trust Young to protect her going forward. The deaths of both his master and May Hee under such terrible circumstances had haunted him for the past seven years. The only relief from that pain had been when he was sleeping or fighting, and he slipped further away.

After operating on Young, Eun-soo had fallen asleep in a chair next to him. She awoke to Dae-man’s cries of alarm. Young was once again having a seizure. Others ran into the room to hold him down and place a strip of wood between his teeth. Eun-soo was puzzled. What could be the problem? They’d removed the source of infection, his fever was down, and he should be recovering. But he wasn’t getting better; in fact, he was worse. She left the room in frustration. Dr. Jang followed her, and they met in the hospital’s garden. Dr. Jang told her that this wasn’t the first time Young had been injured by a sword, and that his inner power was so strong that he had usually healed himself without the need for medical treatment. She asked him why that wasn’t working this time. He replied that she had healed the Commander’s disease but couldn’t heal the person. Her professor had told her the same thing. No matter how well surgery went, if the patient didn’t have a will to live, then recovery was uncertain. It was one of the reasons she left the field of thoracic surgery and went into cosmetic surgery. She didn’t have to get involved with her patients’ life and death issues. Besides, cosmetic surgery was a much more lucrative field of medicine. Dr. Jang asked her if she had ever had a patient die, and she replied, “Is this some kind of drama? Do you think I suffer from pangs of conscience over a patient who died? No, none of my patients ever died.” He replied that, if Choi Young died, he would be her first. She was brought up short by that, realizing that it might be so.

As for Young, he sank even deeper into his dream. On the icy lake it was getting colder and colder. He could feel frost forming over him, in his hair, on his hands, and even on his face. It was getting harder and harder to move, but he didn’t want to move anyway. He just wanted to stay there, where he could feel at peace.

Once Ki Chul and his minions had returned home from the court, the talk was all about what had occurred at court. While Ki Chul was being bathed, Yang-sa and Ki Chul’s brother, Won, were talking in an adjacent room. Yang-sa said angrily, “Such nonsense. All those words that wily thing is saying with her snake tongue! Every word is nonsense!”

Won replied, "Well, I thought you believed in heaven and gods, Yang-sa, something like that. So how come you’re so angry?”

“Because she is confusing the entire country, that’s why. The city is in an uproar. A High Doctor who was sent by Heaven to protect the new King? Ha!”

Won was more superstitious. “Well, when I saw her speak, I got a little frightened. She treated my brother like a servant. And Yuan being destroyed…and she knew when my brother will die too.”

“I tell you, it’s all nonsense!”

“But, she even cast a spell, ‘Hey, F…k you…’ and she sent it through her finger into him! Everyone saw and heard it. They believe it brings death!”

Ki Chul finished his bath, which had calmed him and helped him think about his next steps. He decided he had to see that woman again. His men told him that she was so closely guarded by the Woodalchi that it was impossible to bring her to him. Then he inquired about Choi Young. Why hadn’t they brought him into his service yet?

Yang-sa replied that there were rumors that High Doctor had gone to the Woodalchi barracks, and that Choi Young had become ill after that visit. Perhaps he had offended her, and she cursed him. He was said to be very ill, even near death.

Won added, “Didn’t I tell you? She is casting spells!”

Ki Chul dismissed all the talk of heaven and spells as nonsense. He decided to go see the King.

The King had agreed to meet with him late that evening. He was sitting on his throne as Ki Chul entered. Several Woodalchi were staying very close to the King with hands near their swords. As Ki Chul knelt on all fours, he said, “I, Prince of the Court from Deokseong, have come to see the King.”

The King let him stay there for several moments longer, making it clear who was the King and who was the subject. Then he said, “Ah, this was such a big surprise I’ve forgotten to ask you to stand up. Please sit comfortably. What has brought you here at this late hour?”

Ki Chul took out his copy of the paper that had been found where the advisors had died and placed it on the floor in front of him. “I have come to discuss the secret letter Your Majesty sent me a few days ago. I have found its meaning.”

“Ah, from the place where 24 subjects were poisoned. I sent you a copy of that letter.” Do-chi, one of the King’s attendants, picked up the paper and gave it to the King.

Ki Chul read, “’If the river (Kang) and hill (Reung) find their place, the sun will collapse.’ Here, Kang Reung means…”

“It means me, whose previous name was Prince Kang Reung.”

“And the rest says, ‘Save the sun and stand up for the great cause.’ And this means…”

“It can mean the previous King, Prince Kyeong Chung, my nephew.”

“May I put that meaning together and interpret it?”

“I’m listening.”

“If Prince Kang Reung ascends to the throne, I, Prince Kyeong Chung, will die. Loyal subjects, please save me.”

At that moment the King was thinking that Choi Young had been right, the person who planted the paper would reveal himself. He decided to act as if he believed the message was genuine. “So you’re saying that the advisors gathered to protect the previous King, Prince Kyeong Chung?”

“There is no other way to interpret it, Your Majesty. It had to be on behalf of the exiled Prince.”

“Then who killed all of them?”

Ki Chul paused for a moment before saying, “It was I, your subject.”

Surprised, the King leaned forward and said, “You did?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Why?”

“For your Majesty, and for this country of Goryeo.”

The King was still deciding whether or not to confront the lie. “What if…this secret letter wasn’t the one those poisoned people had, but a forged letter which was planted by somebody after they were all dead?”

“Who and how would they do something like that?”

The King chuckled, deciding to keep playing along. “That’s true. Who and for what reason would they do that?!” Ki Chul joined him in laughter. After a moment the King added, “We can’t just laugh about this. I must reward you for protecting me from rebellious officials.”

“You will reward me, Your Majesty?” Ki Chul was pleased this was going so well.

“What do you want? Tell me. I don’t know well yet what kind of prize is suitable for this kind of great work.”

“Then I will dare to make my request. At our house, there is an illness that no one except Hwata can cure. May I be allowed to take the High Doctor? If that woman is a doctor from the heavens, then of course she will be able to cure that illness. If she cannot, then this subject, on behalf of His Majesty, will clean her up secretly.”

The King arose from his throne, came forward and sat down on one of the steps of the dais, facing his adversary for a more informal but serious conversation. “Do you really plan to kill her?”

“Didn’t I say? That it is for Your Majesty’s sake.”

“Are you afraid she will be by my side? I didn’t know you were such a coward as to be afraid of a woman.”

“The person I am afraid of is not that woman. It is you, Your Majesty. Didn’t you know?”

The King was getting impatient, saying, “Enough wordplay. Tell me exactly what you are hoping for.”

“It’s not playing words. What I really want is you, Your Majesty. To win your trust. And I will get rid of everything that comes between us until you do, whether it’s the High Doctor or the Woodalchi Choi Young.”

“To trust you? Does that mean that I should become a toothless King who follows your words obediently? Is that it?”

“It is a bit…different. What I want is your heart. Having the heart of the person I want. The harder the heart is to get, the more I want it. Gathering hearts is the joy of my life.” Ki Chul finished this statement with a large smile on his face.

“Men’s hearts, you say?” and the King chuckled while thinking that he didn’t have the power to keep the High Doctor out of Ki Chul’s hands for long. But maybe he could protect her even if she was with Ki Chul.

Ki Chul asked, “What is so funny?”

“Let’s try it," The King replied with a smile. "Who will be able to capture the heart first? Shall we try the High Doctor’s heart?”

“Ah. I understand.”

“How long would you need to take the High Doctor’s heart? Would seven days be enough?”

“Seven days will be enough,” Ki Chul said confidently.

“Take her. Go and, if you can get the High Doctor’s heart within seven days, then she will be yours. But if you fail, you have to bring her back with not even a single hair of hers getting hurt.” Ki Chul was looking down, evidently thinking about the King’s offer. The King asked, “Do you not have the confidence?”

The other man looked up then and said, “I will receive your command,” and bowed to the King.

The King knew this was a gamble, but he hoped it would keep the High Doctor safe for the time being, until he could think of a plan to return her safely to the palace.

In the medical office, the subject of their conversation was mixing medicinal herbs that Dr. Jang had said were used to treat inflammation. Eun-soo was determined to learn what she could about medicine in this era. Deo-ki came into the room, frowning at her, and motioned that she was urgently needed. She followed her to where Young lay. Dae-man had been keeping watch, and he told her that the Commander’s body was too cold and his pulse was hard to detect. She looked at Young, shook her head and sat down. She asked after Dr. Jang and was told that he had gone to see another patient. Dae-man asked her if she wasn’t going to do something for the Commander. How could she just sit there? She thought aloud that she’d need a ventilator, a heart monitor and pulse oximeter, but she had none of those. She told Dae-man there was nothing she could do.

He protested, “B-but…you’re the High Doctor!”

“That…is just what you guys call me. I never said I was.”

Dae-man shook his head in frustration and left with Deo-ki to find Dr. Jang.

Sitting alone next to Young, Eun-soo looked at his handsome but deathly pale face. She even noticed the small scar on the end of one eyebrow, which she hadn't seen before. She silently pleaded with him to open those intense eyes that never once wavered when he looked at her and held her gaze. Then she remembered that even unconscious patients could sometimes hear someone talking to them. So she began, “Hey, I happened to listen to your conversation with the King. And I understand you’ve had a very hard life, having to live in this dog-like world. So that’s why you’ve become like a psycho now. I can understand that. But…you’re not the only one. We all have a hard life. Everyone lives persistently, desperately. Because…” While she spoke to him his head lolled to one side. She looked again at his ashen face and suddenly realized he wasn’t breathing.

She jumped up, felt for a pulse and put her face near his nose to detect any breathing. There was none. Alarmed, she cried aloud, “Arrest!” and went into emergency mode. She removed the pillow from under his head and took the covers off his chest. She put one hand over the other, interlacing her fingers, and began to pump on his chest. At regular intervals she moved over to his head, pinched his nostrils shut, opened his mouth, put her lips on his, and breathed out, giving him artificial respiration. Then she returned to chest pumping.

In a few minutes Dr. Jang came in with Dae-man. He wasn’t familiar with what the High Doctor was doing but it was clear she was trying to save Choi Young’s life. By that time she was soaked in sweat and looking desperate as she continued trying to resuscitate him. Dae-man started sobbing. Dr. Jang took Young’s limp arm in his hands and felt for a pulse; he couldn’t feel one. He grabbed her arms and said to her, “Stop it! He’s not breathing!”

But she shook him off, continued her efforts, and spoke to Young again, half-sobbing, “No, you are not leaving me! You can’t leave me here alone! Not because of my sword cut!” She leaned over his face, preparing to breathe into him, and continued, “You can’t die! You can’t! You said you want me to stay by your side. You said that you’ll protect me!” She put her mouth to his lips again, breathed into him, and then returned once again to pumping.

Then something wet fell on his cheek. Whether it was her tears or drops of sweat, he also felt them in his dream. He distantly heard her say that he had promised to protect her, and as he heard her speak he could smell the faint scent of a flower. Part of him wanted to live, and her desperate plea as well as his strong sense of duty formed a slender lifeline. He reached for it and felt the ice on his face begin to break apart and melt. And on the table, he began to breathe again. This time when Dr. Jang stopped her, it was to say, “His breathing has come back!” She stopped pumping, looked at Young’s face and saw that a little color had returned to it. She bent toward him and touched his lips, realizing that her breath was still drifting along those lips. She was tearful with relief and smiled tenderly at him. She hadn’t killed him after all; in fact, she had just saved his life.


	10. Episode 5, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Queen confronts the King about his bet with Ki Chul. Choi Young wakes up after surgery and goes to Ki Chul’s house to rescue the doctor.

**Goryeo Royal Palace and the Mansion of Ki Chul**

The Queen had learned of the King’s decision about the High Doctor as well as Choi Young’s illness. She felt that she must do something. So she insisted on going to the King’s quarters, with Lady Choi following her and trying to stop her. One did not enter the King’s quarters uninvited, not even a wife. But she was determined. The Queen opened the doors to his suite and entered. He was at his desk, drawing. She addressed him, “Your Majesty, may I ask you something?”

Looking at one of his paint brushes, he tersely replied, “Will you leave if I say no?”

She stepped up to his desk and asked, “Are you letting the doctor go? Are you giving her to that man, Ki Chul?”

He finally looked at her. “This is the Palace. He is not just a man, he is the brother of the Empress. Call him Prince of the Court from Deokseong.”

She persisted, “The doctor must stay and treat Woodalchi Choi Young.”

“I know.”

She was angry. “No, you do not know!”

Growing increasingly irritated, the King said, “You are from a royal family and you haven’t learned manners yet?”

“My manners are insignificant compared to my King, to this country. What kind of manners are giving one’s people away to an enemy, one by one, to save one’s life?”

He came around from behind his desk and motioned to Do-chi, his attendant, to leave. Angered by her impudence, he asked her, “Is your natural personality so ill-mannered? Or, since you’re a Princess of Yuan and I’m a powerless and empty King, do you think you can behave so rudely like this?”

“You really don’t see it?”

“No, I don’t see it. So answer me.”

“A pheasant which is chased by a hunter will hide its head and think that all of the world will not be able to see it. Is Your Majesty…a pheasant in a wild field?”

Shocked, he asked, “What?!”

She replied, “Do you not know who is on your side, and who you have to protect, so that you can live? If you give the doctor away and let Choi Young die, who will be by your side then?”

Mistrusting her motives, he asked, “So, you came all the way over here because you were worried about me? I heard you called Choi Young secretly into your quarters a few days ago. Was that for my sake too?”

She was offended by his accusation. She stepped toward the door to leave, but then turned to say, not looking at him, “I didn’t know…you were that interested in me.”

He shouted, “Do you not understand our country’s language only when it’s awkward for you to answer? When you called back Choi Young, who were you really worried about? I’m asking you that!”

“If Your Majesty falls, I also fall. If Your Majesty is trampled on by someone, so am I. _Of course_ I am worried about Your Majesty. I couldn’t stay still in my room because I was so worried, so I ran over like this, and… I dared to be disrespectful.” She spoke the last part in apology.

Surprised to hear that she was concerned for him, even if it was from self-interest, the King stepped toward her, but she quickly said, “It was wrong to come look for you, and it was wrong to ask you.” With tears in her eyes, defiance and regret both pulling at her, she said, “I will never again come nor ask again. So please forgive my imprudence.” And then she walked out of the room. The King was left with mixed emotions toward his impetuous Queen.

In the meantime, Ki Chul wasted no time sending his brother with a few soldiers to the Royal Medical Office. They barged through the door into a hallway, demanding that the High Doctor be brought to them immediately. Word of the King’s order hadn’t yet reached the Royal Medical Office, so the Woodalchi guarding her regarded this as a kidnapping attempt. They drew their swords and held the other men off while Dr. Jang came to meet them. When Dr. Jang refused to bring the High Doctor, Ki Won ordered his men to attack. But the Woodalchi quickly wounded three of his soldiers, who fell to the floor in the hallway. Hearing the tumult, Eun-soo came to the door and saw the wounded soldiers on the floor. She called for a break in the hostilities so she could tend to them. The brother was a little afraid of her and appeared to agree, but as soon as she and Dr. Jang were kneeling next to one of his soldiers, looking at his wound, he put his sword to Dr. Jang’s neck and ordered her to come with him. Even so the battle might have continued, but just then Choon-sik arrived and told the other Woodalchi that indeed it was the King's order for the High Doctor to be taken by Ki Chul. Ki Won and his remaining men dragged her away.

The next morning, Young regained consciousness. Dae-man, who had been keeping watch all night and into the morning, saw him move and said, “Commander?” Young slowly put his arm over his eyes and whispered, “My eyes hurt. The light…is bright.” The sun was cheerfully shining through a window and the light was falling on his face. Dae-man immediately moved his body to block the light. After some time Young slowly began to sit up and sent Dae-man to get Dr. Jang. As the doctor and Dae-man walked back to where Young was, Dr. Jang was worried that Dae-man had told the Commander about what had happened to the High Doctor. He asked, “Did you tell him everything, even about the Doctor being taken away?”

“Well, since he asked, wouldn’t I answer?” replied Dae-man.

Dr. Jang thought that Young should rest for at least a few days, but he knew the chance of that was negligible if the Commander knew she’d been taken away. And sure enough, when they arrived, they found him already getting dressed, putting on his belt. Dr. Jang took his pulse and did his best to caution him. “You have been unconscious for a whole day. Your heart stopped once, too. If it wasn’t for the High Doctor, you wouldn’t be alive right now. Young had a grim look on his face. He ignored the doctor and finished dressing. Dr. Jang continued, “Your pulse is still weak. You need absolute rest.”

Stubbornly ignoring the doctor’s statements about his condition, Young bent over briefly to catch his breath, then stood up and gave the Doctor an angry look, saying, “Did you just watch while they took her?”

The doctor replied, “It was a royal order.”

But the Commander retorted, “You could have done _something_. Made her faint or hit her… and make the excuse that she couldn’t move.” The doctor didn't reply, knowing better than to argue with him in this mood.

But as Young picked up his shield and went to leave, Dr. Jang put his hand on the Commander’s arm, causing him to pause. “You are Woodalchi, a royal guard. Are you thinking about going against the King’s order?”

Young curtly replied, “I’m already exhausted enough. Don’t make me waste my precious strength. Please move aside.”

Seeing that his efforts to get the Commander to rest would be fruitless, the doctor handed him a packet. “This is an energy retention drug. There are only 3 pills left. It’ll help to maintain your energy for one day. As long as you can, don’t use your lightning energy. It will burden your inner power too much. You might even lose that power forever.”

Still annoyed, Young took one of the pills, and responded dryly, “Thank you for the encouraging words.” He turned to leave.

Once again Dr. Jang stopped him. “Right now Prince of the Court is looking for a justification, to define the High Doctor as a wily thing deluding the world and deceiving the people.”

“So?”

“So, he’s trying to execute her publicly. And you’re the very person who brought that wily thing. Do you have a good plan? What kind of plan is it?”

Young tersely replied, “A frontal breakthrough,” and left.

Young rode his horse to Ki Chul’s mansion with his shield and sword behind him. The shield had some metal rings running down one side, originally designed to hold a police baton. He had used those to hold his scabbard. That way he could carry the shield on his back and still draw his sword from over his shoulder as needed. Dae-Man followed him, going to the roofs to stay out of sight once they approached the mansion, while still shadowing the Commander. The Commander told the guards, “Young of the Choi family from Changwon, here to meet Prince of the Court from Deokseong.”

Receiving the message, Ki Chul was surprised. He said to Yang-sa, “You said he was ill and in critical condition.”

“That is what I originally heard, but … they said the High Doctor revived him.”

“According to you, Yang-sa, she’s a fake doctor talking nonsense. But then how can she kill and then save a person?”

Yang-sa was flustered, but Ki Chul patted him on the shoulder, saying, “Could it be true? That she came from the heavens, and is a heavenly healer? Could she be the disciple of Hwata?”

Then he turned to Eum-ja and asked, “Did you say Choi Young came alone?”

“Yes.”

Ki Chul smiled and leaned back in his chair. “No one in Goryeo except that woman has ever dared to look straight into my eyes and ask me how old I am and claimed to know when I’ll die.”

Yang-sa interjected, “Lord, that’s because that bitch is insane…”

Ignoring him, Ki Chul continued, “No one in Goryeo has ever dared to ask me to get on my knees and lower my head, no one but Choi Young. With anticipatory glee, he added, “And right now, both of them are in my house.”

Yang-sa asked, “Choi Young, should I bring him here, or have him locked up?”

“Locked up? Why do that? That wouldn’t be any fun, right?” Ki Chul smiled and motioned to Eum-ja to go to meet Young at the entrance.

Meanwhile, Do-chi had brought news of the Woodalchi Commander to the King. The King was drawing a picture with a brush and ink, and while he continued to work, he asked, “How is his condition?”

“According to the Royal Doctor, it’s incredible that he stands up and walks on his own feet.”

“So in that condition, he went by himself to see Prince of the Court?”

“Dr. Jang asked if he had any plan, and he said he would do a frontal breakthrough.”

The King was disappointed and hurt. “He’s laughing at me. He’s laughing at me, who has been anxiously thinking of all kinds of tricks and political maneuvers. A frontal breakthrough?”

Do-chi commented, “If he went there to take that High Doctor back, Choi Young is defying the Royal Order. Will you just wait here and watch?”

Upset enough that he let his brush drip ink on his drawing, the King replied, “I trusted him. I even told him that I trusted him. But I see he doesn’t trust me.”

Trying to calm the King, Do-chi said, “Your Majesty.”

But the King went on, “The Princess couldn’t trust me and blames me. Choi Young doesn’t trust me and went there by himself to die. He didn’t even come to ask why I wagered the doctor.” He was getting more upset as he talked.

Concerned, Do-chi knelt and said, “Your Majesty, consider your health and do not be distressed.”

But the King continued, becoming even more emotional. “He must have thought that asking me why won’t change anything. What can he expect from a cowardly and powerless King? It wouldn’t make sense for such a king to have a plan after letting them take her, would it?!”

Do-chi cried out again, “Your Majesty!”

Almost in tears, the King cried, “Do-chi, the position I’m sitting in, as King, if there is no one who trusts me or needs me, how should I keep going on?”

While he waited to see Ki Chul, Young sat on a terrace, leaning against a wall with his shield by his side. He appeared to be dozing, but he had been thinking the entire time since he left the palace about how he could extricate the High Doctor from that man's clutches. He also contemplated why he felt compelled to be there. The woman he had escorted from heaven because of the King’s order was now in danger of losing her life because of another order from the King. But he didn’t resent the King. That woman had called him back to life when he was already stepping into another world, and he had promised to return her to her world. So he wasn’t there because of the King; it was something personal between him and the Doctor.

He was still mulling it over when a shadow fell over him. He opened his eyes and looked up. It was Eum-ja with his long white hair, staring at him with his arms crossed. He led Young into the compound. Young hadn’t been there before, and he took advantage of the opportunity to look around and memorize the layout as they walked. Suddenly he spied a woman seated some way off to his left. Her arms and hands were tied behind her back, and she was partly turned away from him with her hair obscured by a tree. He thought she looked enough like the High Doctor that he decided to investigate. He turned away from following Eum-ja and began to walk toward her, knocking away two guards who tried to stop him. She was on the other side of a small pond with a bridge over it. He began to run as other guards came at him. He kicked one away, knocked two of them in the pond and two others over the bridge’s railing. Reaching the woman, he grasped her robe by the shoulder but realized it wasn’t the High Doctor. She rose and twirled around to face him; it was Hwa Su-in. She backed up and threw one of her fiery balls at him, but he deflected it with his shield. Flirtatious as always, she said, “Ohhh, that’s so bad, I can’t trick you!”

Amused, he replied, “You almost did.”

“Doesn’t she look like me?”

He told her, “She’s not the kind of person to wait so quietly.” He walked toward her but was almost immediately surrounded by several soldiers. Hwa Su-in used her inner power to jump to a low roof in order to watch the coming fight. The soldiers attacked him, and he managed to fight them off using kicks, fists, and his shield as a weapon, preferring not to kill them, then moved toward the main house, encountering yet more guards. Dae-man looked for the High Doctor as his mentor continued to fight off Ki Chul’s soldiers. Finally Young took his sword out of its scabbard and started to carve his way through the remaining soldiers that were attacking him.

Ki Chul was watching the fight from an upper balcony. He wondered aloud, “Can he use inner energy?” Yang-sa replied that he must have it since he had been a member of the Red Crescent Moon army. It was said that all of the members of that group possessed some type of inner power. Ki Chul noted that he was only using his sword, and Yang-sa speculated that perhaps he wasn’t fully recovered from his illness. But Ki Chul wanted to know whether he had inner power, so he motioned to Eum-ja to take the lead in fighting Choi Young. Yang-sa worried that Eum-ja could only imperfectly direct the energy of his flute’s sound; he might hurt their own soldiers as well. 

And that was indeed the case. When Eum-ja began playing, it not only made Young pause, but also affected those in front of him with whom he was still fighting. Ki Chul, watching, protected himself with his freezing power, covering his ears with frost. As the eerie sounds continued, Young fell to his knee and blood began oozing from his ears and mouth. He coughed, then made himself stand up and face Eum-ja. He gathered what he could of his own inner power and as he did so, an aura of energy began to cover him and run down the length of his sword. It wavered now and then, weaker than his normal power, but for the most part he was able to block the power of Eum-ja’s deadly music. Ki Chul smiled to see it; he wanted him in his service even more now.

Unknown to Young, while he was fighting at Ki Chul’s residence his Woodalchi were in the throne room kneeling in front of the King. Vice-Commander Choon-sik, as their spokesman, begged the King, “Please allow one unit of Woodalchi, just 12 men, to go. Please allow us to help the Commander.”

The King replied, “That’s impossible.”

Choon-sik persisted, “I have, for the past seven years, been serving the Commander as a Woodalchi warrior. If it was for the King’s safety, he risked his petty life willingly. My King knows how loyal he is!”

The King looked away and told him, “Go back.”

“There must be a reason for the Commander to disobey your order. First we have to save him to hear that reason. Then he will explain…”

The King firmly interrupted Choon-sik, saying, “The Woodalchi Commander must never disobey my orders. That is this country’s discipline.”

“Your Highness, please, we beg you!” And the rest of the Woodalchi cried, “Your Highness! Your Highness!”

Angry now, the King rose from his throne and shouted, “You people, do you have a mind or not?! I, the King, have passed an order. Many of you were there and clearly heard my orders. But now you are saying you will escort the High Doctor here?”

“We only want to help the Commander!”

“That would be going against my orders. That is high treason and the punishment for that is death. You men have only one way of saving your Commander. That is by saying that you knew about my orders, _but Choi Young was unaware of them_.”

The King continued, “In the end, none of you are to go to help Choi Young. **_WHY?_** Because none of you have met Choi Young since yesterday. As a result, you do not know where he is. Do you understand?” He hoped they knew that he wanted to save Choi Young as much as they did.

The fight at Ki Chul’s place continued. Having gathered his inner lightning power, Young extended the field of his power to his shield to help block the flute’s sound. His power continued to waver from time to time, so in fits and starts he slowly moved toward Eum-ja, then used the shield to thrust a line of energy toward the other man. As the energy hit Eum-ja, he lost his hold on the flute and the killing sound stopped. Young angrily stalked toward Eum-ja. But then, from a rooftop, Dae-man blew his whistle, letting his Commander know that he had located the High Doctor. The Commander immediately abandoned his fight with Eum-ja and entered the building where Dae-man waited. On their way Young met and disabled a few more guards in the corridor. At last Young came to the locked door that Dae-man indicated.

Before entering, Young paused to wipe the blood from his lips and neck so he’d be a bit more presentable. He hesitated for a moment, scared that something had happened to her, either while she was being dragged there by those lowlifes or afterward. Then he hacked open the lock with one blow of his sword. He went into the room and saw her lying down on a divan. As soon as she saw him, she got up and gave him a brilliant smile, saying, “Psycho!”

He was so glad to see that she was apparently unhurt, he didn’t know what to say, so he only said, “Sorry, I’m late.”

They walked toward each other, relieved and pleased to see the other one. Eun-soo excitedly cried, “You’re alive!”

He asked her, “Are you all right?”

Before answering him she placed her hand on his cheek to check his temperature. He felt a little shy at her touch, not moving a muscle. He felt the warmth of her hand linger on his check for a moment and her scent wafted to him. She said happily, “Your fever went down!” Then she hit him in the chest with her fist, saying, “You really have come back, Psycho! I saved you.” He looked down with a slight smile, unused to but enjoying her lively enthusiasm.

Then she turned serious. “But right now, I’m locked in here.”

“I know.”

“They dragged me here and locked me in this room…”

Suddenly they heard the sound of swords being drawn from their scabbards and they both turned. Stalking toward them was a grim-looking Ki Chul, accompanied by his minions, Yang-sa, Eum-ja and Hwa Su-in, as well as a few soldiers. Young turned around and walked toward them, making sure he stayed between her and Ki Chul’s group.


	11. Episode 6, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ki Chul sends the doctor and Choi Young on a mission to prove that she is a divine healer. The Queen decides to go to Ki Chul’s house to offer a trade.

**Goryeo Royal Palace, Ki Chul's Mansion, and the Road to Ganghwa Island**

Young strode to the doorway to block Ki Chul and his minions from entering the room. Ki Chul stopped in front of him, saying, “Woodalchi Commander, Choi Young.”

Young stared straight into the eyes of Ki Chul and and the others. He realized that if he wanted to protect the Doctor, he shouldn’t fight them. He replied, “We meet again.” And bowed to him.

“And you,” Ki Chul looked at Eun-soo, addressing her informally.

Young rebuked him. “She is the person the King has chosen as the High Doctor. She must be addressed respectfully.”

“You’ve been talking about manners ever since we met. Were you always a person who cared so much for manners?”

Young smiled with a light chuckle. “Manners are not always important in the work I do. But they might buy some time.”

“What do you need more time for?”

“I am thinking about taking the person behind me and running away from here.”

“Are you saying that you will run off in front of me and all my people? While taking that woman along with you?”

Again Young smiled as he replied, “Can’t I?”

Suddenly suspicious, Ki Chul wondered, “Could it be…you hid some Woodalchi men around my house?”

To protect the King, Young knew he had to make it clear that the King had nothing to do with him being there. He replied, “It is my own personal business, the King does not know about it. And the Woodalchi will not move without the King’s orders.”

“So you came here for personal reasons? Why?”

Young had decided on a plausible reason for having come there. “Do you not understand the meaning of personal? I have come for her,” he paused and turned slightly to toward Eun-soo before continuing, “…because I am in love with her.”

Everyone, including Eun-soo, was thrown into confusion by this revelation.

Ki Chul couldn’t believe his ears. “What did you just say?”

“The woman I love was dragged off in the middle of the night and is locked in a strange place. What man would stay put? That’s why I have come here. So, before anyone else gets hurt, won’t you let us go?”

Ki Chul thought this might turn out very well for him. He had two very valuable people in his grasp, and they were _lovers_?! He laughed out loud at this wonderful situation that had dropped in his lap. With a broad smile, Ki Chul asked his pledged sister how it was to fight Choi Young. She replied that, since he only instructed her to test him, she didn’t use all of her strength. But she didn’t think he had used all of his power either, so she wasn’t sure how powerful he was. She approached Young as she spoke and went to put a hand on his arm. He slapped it away. Then she tried to go around him toward the High Doctor. But he slammed his shield to the floor in front of her, blocking her path. She chuckled but backed away. Ki Chul asked the same question of Eum-ja, especially about Choi Young’s inner power. He replied that he didn’t find him that strong because he didn’t endure very long. Ki Chul speculated, “Not that strong, or as I heard because he was injured?” He turned to Young and asked, “Which is it?”

Young replied, “Which will be more favorable for me?”

“An excellent swordsman, but you are not just a mere swordsman.”

“I sometimes use the bow, and if I don’t have any, I also use my fists,” he replied with a smile, avoiding any mention of his inner power.

“Ah, an intelligent swordsman. Choi Young, do you like wine?”

Eum-ja led Young and the Doctor to another part of the compound, where they would meet Ki Chul again for refreshments. Eun-soo walked beside Young, and Dae-man was on her other side. As they walked across the large courtyard and garden, her nose was filled with the smell of blood. There were blood stains everywhere, on the grass, on the decorative stones, and on the pavement. Her steps slowed as she realized it smelled like she was in the middle of surgery. She noted the blood stains on Young’s sleeves and the nape of his neck, but he didn’t look as if he was injured. A small breeze again wafted the smell of blood across her nose, and this time she realized it came not from the ground but from the Commander. She wondered what in the world he had done. How did a person in his condition cause this bloodbath? They reached a bridge that crossed over the small lake. Young halted in front of the steps and watched her as she walked toward it and climbed the three steps. Then he followed her. She was stunned with the knowledge that evidently he had no qualms about shedding his own blood or that of others to protect her. He had just gone ahead and done that. Damn.

Young had noticed her staring at the ground all around her. Her steps slowed and her face lost color, but then her expression hardened, trying her best not to be frightened by all of this. He thought about the brief time he had been in the heaven world, how no one seemed to carry weapons except the guard who had chased him. Perhaps nobody there fought with swords, with blood spilling everywhere. She had lived in that kind of world.

Choi Young's and the High Doctor's absence from the palace worried the Queen. She had requested another meeting with the King, and when she approached him on his throne, accompanied by Lady Choi, he said without looking at her, “Didn’t you tell me last time that you would neither talk to me or look for me again?”

She replied, “Will you continue to mock me? Or will you listen to what I have to say?” He looked at her briefly and motioned for her to be seated in the Queen’s chair next to the throne. They both faced the same direction, not looking at each other.

She began, “I heard that Woodalchi’s Choi Young went to look for the High Doctor. I could ask officials I know in the Yuan embassy to come and help us.” The King let out a scornful breath at the suggestion, but she continued, “I know you wouldn’t want to even think about it, but I am a Princess of Yuan. Please use me.”

“Use you?”

“Even if Prince of the Court from Deokseong’s power is high, He won’t be able to refuse a request from a Yuan official. I will ask them to find the High Doctor and the Woodalchi Commander.”

The King turned to her saying, “I think you have forgotten. I am the King of Goryeo.”

She countered, “And I am the Queen of Goryeo.”

The King realized he needed to explain his position to the Queen. He got up and went to where she sat. “Ki Chul, Prince of the Court from Deokseong, may be a ruthless man. But he is still one of my people and my subject. But are you telling me to ask a favor of Yuan? So what should I say? I, the King, am too incompetent to control my own subject. So instead of me doing it, please make him obey me. Should I say that? If you’re Goryeo’s Queen, then you shouldn’t think or say those types of words.”

The young Queen, who had been looking at him while he spoke, realized that what he said was true. Approaching Yuan would only weaken his position. She bowed her head and said, “I see…You are right.”

Recalling her accusation from their previous discussion, he asked, “What are you thinking now with your head down like that? That this humble King who doesn’t have anything is only trying to save his own face, while those few people, who were staying beside him, are dying. Is that what you’re thinking?” As he spoke, a tear ran down her cheek. He returned to the throne, sat down and looked straight ahead. “I see you are finished.”

She rose from her chair, gave a slight bow and left. Lady Choi, following her, stopped a few feet in front of the King, and waited until the Queen had left the room. She turned and quietly said to him, “For the Queen, Her Highness, to come here, she had struggled a lot, because she had to let go of all her pride.”

The King was rueful, understanding that he had hurt his wife, and nodded to Lady Choi. She bowed, said goodbye and turned to leave. The King said to her, “I had to give the High Doctor away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“She really came from heaven. He will not harm her once he realizes that. I believed so. But I didn’t just let her go.”

“Did you?”

“Because I was worried he would hurt her before realizing who she really is, I made a bet.”

Encouraging him to continue, “A bet, you say?”

“Seven days. He has to gain the High Doctor’s heart within seven days. If he’s successful, she’ll be his. I also told him to find out, during that time, if she’s really the High Doctor. Then, he will keep her alive for seven days at the least. Meanwhile, I must find a solution. Am I…Am I too pitiful?”

“Of course not, Your Majesty.” Having confessed his plan, about which even he had doubts about its success, the King gave her permission to leave.

Ki Chul greeted the Doctor and Young as they approached his table, smiling and standing up as they approached. Young made sure she was seated first and then sat at her side. Ki Chul’s minions were also in attendance. Ki Chul poured wine for them, but when Eun-soo lifted her cup to drink, Young leaned over and took it out of her hand, saying, “I’ll drink it first,” He drank the small cup dry.

Ki Chul asked him, “How is it? Does it seem like it has poison?”

Shocked, Eun-soo said to Young, “What?! You drank it first to check if it had _poison_?”

Young calmly replied, “Yes.”

“Are you crazy?! What if it actually was poisoned?”

“Aren’t you the High Doctor? You would cure me.”

Too stunned to reply, she turned to Ki Chul. “This is all a joke, right?”

Yang-sa interjected, “You witch, aren’t you the one who tried to fool with us? You came from the heavens? Hwata’s apprentice? There isn’t one person here who believes your drivel! But tell me the truth. What are you, witch?”

She sneered at him in contempt. “Keep talking crap!” He straightened up at her tone, taken aback. She continued, “Do you think I’m keeping my mouth shut because I don’t know how to curse as well?” Yang-sa turned away, unsure how to respond to this sharp-tongued woman.

Ki Chul, who had already experienced that sharp tongue once, smiled at Yang-sa’s reaction. Young looked down but couldn’t entirely hide a grin; he admired her feistiness. She turned to Ki Chul, “Look! Did you call me here for a patient? Who is it? Tell that person to come here.” Ki Chul chuckled and took a sip from his cup.

She then turned to Young and explained, “This rich man and the King made a bet on whether I can properly treat the patient or not.”

He responded, “So what?” Based on what he had seen her do, the Commander thought she could cure anyone.

“What do you mean, ‘So what’?! He locked me up all night in a room and didn’t even give me breakfast!”

Hwa Su-in broke into the conversation, saying, “It seems like you didn’t hear what will happen if you can’t cure him.”

“What will happen?”

Hwa Su-in smiled as she answered, “You will be executed for being a wily thing who deluded the world and deceived the people. Your neck will be plucked like a honeysuckle. Your head will be hung as an example. Oh dear, if your head is cut off, you won’t look very pretty.”

At that Eun-soo lost her temper. “Can’t you stop all that rubbish? This isn’t fun and isn’t funny. Seriously...!” and she picked up the pitcher and began pouring herself more wine. Young tried to stop her, but she pulled away from him and filled the cup. He told her to stop, but she replied, “How can I stay calm?!” She drank the cup down and began pouring another one, shouting, “Didn’t you hear what they said?!”

More forcefully now, Young took the pitcher from her, saying, “Ah, please!” He set the pitcher back on the table. 

Ki Chul was smiling, finding all of this quite amusing. Young asked him, “Where is the patient?”

“Hmm. I was originally going to choose a patient nearby, but I changed my mind when I saw you come. I thought of the perfect patient.”

“Who is it?”

“The one you faithfully served for the past three years. I heard that the King’s nephew, Prince Kyeong Chung, who was exiled to Ganghwa Island, is very sick. If she really is a heavenly healer, I’m sure she can cure him. So you must take her there. She’s your lover, right? You can’t let her go by herself.”

Frustrated, Eun-soo began to get up from her chair, but Young placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down onto her seat. He was concerned by what Ki Chul might be planning. “Lord Deokseong, what are you trying to do?”

Ki Chul chuckled as he said, “I’m thinking to shoot one arrow to catch two eagles at the same time. If it works well, I might catch three.” Young wondered if they’d already been caught in Ki Chul´s snare, and Eun-soo thought it couldn't be good when that man was happy.

Meanwhile, the young Queen felt she must do something to free the High Doctor and Choi Young. She decided that she would go to Ki Chul's house and offer to trade herself for their freedom. Lady Choi and Dr. Jang strenuously tried to dissuade her. Lady Choi told her that her nephew was very smart and would find a way to save both the High Doctor and himself. But the Queen was determined to take action, and outside of tying her to her bed, they could not stop her. They accompanied her along with several of her maiden warriors as she left the palace in plain clothes and began walking to his home.

Il-shin quickly went to the King and told him that the Queen had left the palace secretly, accompanied by Dr. Jang and Lady Choi. The King was stunned to learn that she had left the palace in that manner. But first, he confronted Il-shin about how he had learned all of those details. Had he planted a spy in the Queen’s household? Il-shin said he had done so to counter a spy that Ki Chul had undoubtedly planted there too. But the King interrupted him, asking if he also had a spy in the King’s household. After a flustered pause, Il-shin threw himself to the floor, admitting it by begging the King’s forgiveness.

Leaving the spy issue alone for the moment, the King found Choon-sik nearby and told him to send several Woodalchi to bring her back, and that Choon-sik was also to go personally. In spite of how he had been treating the Queen, the King felt concerned for her welfare, both personally and politically. He grasped Choon-sik’s sleeve and said with great urgency, “Go and be sure to bring that person back alive. I will give you all authority. Even if you have to tie her up and drag her here. Just bring her back here, to me.” Choon-sik bowed to the King and left.

About the same time as the Queen set out to rescue them, Young and Eun-soo had finished with their drinks and conversation at Ki Chul´s table. Accompanied by Dae-man, they walked toward two horses that had been provided to them for their journey. Eun-soo took one look at them and asked, “There’s no carriage?”

Young told her, “We’re going to travel on horses.”

“But I never learned or cared to learn how to ride horses. Let’s go by carriage, you know, the thing I rode in with the Princess on the way here!”

“I said we are taking horses." Gesturing at one of them, he told her, "You take this one.”

“Then can we ride it together? You in the back, me in the front.”

“It is a long way to Ganghwa Island. Please think about the horse a bit. If two people ride together, that would be too heavy for it.”

He went to help lift her onto the horse, but she cringed away and put up her hands, saying, “Wait! I need to get ready.” Young was worried about the young prince and wasn’t sure what to do with the Doctor. She argued with everything he said, often beating it to death with a thousand words. He gave a big sigh, walked over to his horse and began leading it away. Dae-man took her horse and began walking it in the same direction. Eun-soo called after him, “Hey Psycho, are you mad at me?” and receiving no answer, reluctantly followed the two men on foot.

Their path led through a forest that skirted the side of a mountain. Dae-man took the reins of both horses so Young could have his arms free in case of danger. Eun-soo, curious about what he had said to Ki Chul about his feelings for her, asked about the words he had used. She thought they might mean something different in her time than in his. She wasn’t sure how to address him so she used a respectful form of his name, “Choi Young _Ssi_. You said you have an affection for me. That means you like me very much. So, you love me?” He was doing his best to ignore her, but she continued with a little laugh, “So, since when did you fall in love? I had no idea!” He didn’t answer her or look at her. She went on, “Well, I’m not very skillful in dating, but how could I have known? You wouldn’t even look straight at me.” She bent around him to look him in the face, and he avoided her eyes. “Like right now, see? You can’t look at my face!”

He was very uncomfortable with the conversation. He turned away from her, she followed, he turned to the side again, she followed, and so it went. She continued, “I can’t believe you came alone to that house to save me. And your body can’t be in good condition. Oh, that house looked like a house of a mafia boss.” She laughed again, “I know it’s not funny but...” She continued babbling, “How old are you? I think you’re younger than me.” She was walking alongside but slightly behind him, and, as she talked, she reached around and put her hand on his arm. In a flash he took her by the wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. He was annoyed and thought she needed to learn how careful she needed to be around men with swords. He would never hurt her, but others might. She gasped with pain while he held her in an arm lock and hissed at her over her shoulder, “Remember this. Never sneak up on a swordsman. And especially, don’t ever touch them without warning,” and let her go, pushing her away from him while saying, “Or you might lose your hand.” He hoped she'd stop pestering him about what he had said.

Rubbing her shoulder, she scoffed, “You’re not scaring me! I spent years in medical school. I was surrounded by people using knives, too!”

After awhile he returned to the topic. “I’m saying this because I’m afraid that you might misunderstand. When I said earlier that I love you, that’s only because…”

“I know. Forget it, I understand.”

But he wasn’t at all sure she did. “What do you understand?”

“You’re probably embarrassed from confessing your heart. I’m sorry for teasing you.” Smiling, she continued, “I wasn’t laughing at you, so sorry!”

He hastened to say, “I said that because of the situation.”

“I said I got it. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it, but what to do, I already heard!” She laughed, tapped him on the chest again and ran down the path a little way, calling to him, “Quickly come!”

He stood there open-mouthed, unsure what to do with her. She was the most unpredictable person he had ever met. She both exasperated and disturbed him at the same time. Dae-man came up to him and said, “Commander?”

Young grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, saying, “From all the doctors in heaven, why did I just happen to bring _her_?! Tell me, _why_?!”

Dae-man stuttered, “I…I don’t know.” Young closed his eyes, shaking his head and huffing in exasperation as he put Dae-man down.

He told the young man to go back to the medical unit for the High Doctor’s tools and bring them back as soon as possible. He thought she might need them for their patient. He warned Dae-man not to talk to anyone about it, told him they’d reach Ganghwa the next afternoon, and to come before sunset. Dae-man realized that the two of them would be alone overnight and smirked, “So, you need time alone with…” Young raised his hand to hit Dae-man, who quickly backed away, nervously saying, “Uh… I’ll be going now.”

Young turned back to Eun-soo, who was playfully motioning him forward. He blew out a breath, wiped his forehead and prepared to continue the journey with the unruly Doctor.

Later that day Dae-man arrived at the Herbal House where Eun-soo lived and found her surgical tools. Unfortunately, Yang-sa also arrived as Dae-man was leaving. He had come to seize the tools in order to hobble the High Doctor’s effectiveness. When he confronted Dae-man, he blew a powder into Dae-man’s face as he was inhaling, which had an immediate effect. He fell to the ground, unconscious, and began foaming at the mouth. Yang-sa left with the doctor’s tools as Deo-ki ran to Dae-man's aid.

Later in the afternoon, Young and Eun-soo had stopped in a small village, and she was digging into a plate of _mandu_ , or steamed dumplings. He continued to be amazed with the amount of food she required, thinking she was eating enough mandu to feed an army. But Young’s attention was also on their journey. They would need to cross the river to Gangwha Island, but Daeman hadn’t yet returned. He was uneasy and decided to do a bit of reconnaissance. He told Eun-soo to finish her meal and eat lots of dumplings, and that he’d be back soon.

Before he could leave and with her mouth full of dumpling, she asked him, “Where are you going?”

He turned back to her and said impatiently, “I won’t say this twice. In the future, even if you ask ‘why’ or ‘what’, I won’t answer. So just do what I say. And I won’t be long, so please wait right here and don’t move at all. And, enjoy the dumplings.” He started to leave.

But she’d been thinking that they needed to go their separate ways. When he came to find her that morning, with the smell of blood emanating from him, she made up her mind not to return to the palace. She didn’t want to be part of the power struggle between the King and Ki Chul. Even worse, she found herself turning toward Choi Young. That was partly because he was the person who had promised to return her to her world, but increasingly that was an excuse rather than the cause of wanting to be around him. His honest responses, his averted gazes when uncomfortable, everything about him stirred something in her. And whenever he stared straight into her eyes, she ceased to breathe.

She’d been trying to talk some sense into herself. He was a person from another world. A man who kidnaped and killed as easily as drawing a breath. More than anything, he was someone who was mentioned in her textbooks. No matter what, before it was too late, she thought it was best that they go their separate ways. So she stood up and called, “Answer me one thing before going.” He turned back to her. “Which way do I go? To where the door to heaven is.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but I won’t get involved in you guys’ bet. If I can’t heal the patient, they said they would cut off my head. So I don’t want to get involved. Just tell me the way. We don’t have to go together. I will go alone. Thinking of our relationship, please just let me go.”

He began to try to reason with her. “Listen, High Doctor...”

But she went on, “So, you go your way and tell them I ran away. I just need some money. Even though I can’t pay you back…You can do that for me, right? You…said you loved me.” As she talked, he thought that her understanding of the situation was very naïve, but he also had sympathy for her plight. Plus, it was strange but the thought of her leaving made his heart sink. He explained that she could not leave without treating the Prince, that she’d just be captured again by Ki Chul, who had an army at his command. They went a few rounds back and forth, but in the end she appeared to accept the reality of the situation, at least for the time being.

Back in the capital city, the spy among the Queen’s maiden warriors had wasted no time sending a message to Ki Chul that the Queen was coming to his mansion to rescue the doctor and Choi Young. Greeting her at his mansion would cause no end of complications in his plans, and besides, he thought she should have been dead already. He sent men to intercept her.

They attacked the Queen’s party, first with swords. The attackers were dressed plainly, clearly intended to be taken as robbers. The Queen’s maiden warriors defended her well, and Lady Choi and Dr. Jang also fought to protect her. But the Queen’s party was outnumbered. They turned around and tried to retreat, but found themselves facing a line of archers. Some of the archers loosed arrows directly at the Queen, but Dr. Jang, with his inner power, deflected them with his fan. Fortunately, Choon-sik and several other Woodalchi arrived on horseback. The attackers began fleeing, running past the Queen’s party and toward what they thought was the safety of the archers. But Eum-ja, who had been watching from a rooftop, blew a different signal on his flute. The archers turned their arrows on the fleeing men, killing them, and then they themselves disappeared into the village like smoke. The Woodalchi, after first making sure she was unharmed, returned the shaken Queen to the palace. They tried to take her to the King, but she insisted on being taken to her own quarters instead. She said that if the King wanted an explanation, he could come to her.

During the rescue operation, the King had been pacing up and down the palace corridors, worrying about his Queen. He came to the end of a corridor, turned around and started back down it again. His entourage, following him, tried to stay out his way while the King paced back and forth, but piled up a little behind him whenever he turned to pace back the other way. Choon-sik returned and, after listening to his report, the King responded, “Then she didn't say anything like, ´I’m sorry,’ or ´Thank you for saving me,’ not a word? On the whole way back to the palace, you didn’t even hear one explanation?” The King was now angrily pacing back and forth.

Choon-sik replied, “The Queen only spoke twice. When I said, ‘We have to go back to the palace,’ she said, ‘Why?’ And when I said, ‘His Majesty is waiting’…she said, ‘He is not.’”

The King huffed scornfully, “He is not?!”

Choon-sik added, “Those gangs who attacked the Queen had the outfits of street thugs, but the Queen’s guards who fought against them said they appeared to be trained in martial arts.”

“As expected, they were Prince of the Court from Deokseong’s men,” the King concluded.

“And they killed their own men to shut their mouths,” said Choon-sik. “I can’t think of anyone else who would commit that kind of cruel act without any hesitation.”

The King then asked for word about the High Doctor and Choi Young. Choon-sik reported that the young man who went with them came to get the High Doctor’s tools, but the tools were taken and the young man was poisoned. Although Dr. Jang was treating him, he had not yet woken up.

Frustrated and angry, the King shouted, “So you’re telling me that you don’t know where they are right now, who they are with, what they are doing, and if they are alive or dead?!”

Choon-sik tried to reassure the King. “They will be fine.”

“How so? How would you know they’ll be fine?”

“Because he’s the Commander. The Commander I know doesn’t go into a fight that he can’t win. If necessary, he also knows how to step back. Therefore, he won’t get killed that easily…” And then he added, less certainly, “…Most likely.”


	12. Episode 6, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young teaches the doctor how to ride a horse. They camp in a forest and finally arrive at their destination. Ki Chul tries to cast doubt on Choi Young's loyalty to the King.

**Gae Kyeong, the Road to Ganghwa Island, and the Young Prince's House**

The horse problem hadn’t yet been resolved, and Young had run out of patience. Eun-soo was standing beside a horse, staring at the saddle. She swallowed anxiously. Young stood beside her and instructed her, “Please get on.”

“Wait a second.” She tried to gather her courage.

“Whether you go with me to Ganghwa Island or run away from me to the gate of heaven, you need to know how to ride a horse.”

But she was afraid of the giant beast. “Just wait a bit! Are horses always this big?”

Young was finished talking. He picked her up and stood her on a rock next to the horse. “Put your left hand here,” and he placed her hand on the front of the saddle. “Place your right hand here,” and he placed that hand on the back of the saddle. “And go up with your foot here, please.”

She cried, “But the horse will move.” He picked up her left ankle and placed it in the stirrup.

“Now please get on.”

“I said the horse will move!”

“I'm holding onto the horse. Just get on…please.” He counted, “One…two…three,” and boosted her into the saddle. Her rear went onto the saddle but her upper body clung to the horse’s neck.

“Sit up! Not face down.”

“I can’t…!”

He put his hands on his hips and sighed, “Then are you just going to go like that?”

The horse moved slightly and she talked into its ear, “Hey, horse…horse…Wait, wait…”

Young pulled the horse forward, saying, “Sit up.”

She was so surprised by the motion that she sat up. “Ooooh!”

He showed her how to hold the reins and her horse began to walk forward as he commented, “Good. Go.” He mounted his own horse and followed her.

As they headed out along the path, he continued instructing her. “Hey, I told you not to hold on too tight to the reins. Let the horse lead.”

“Then what should I do? Just let go of the reins?”

“Who said not to hold them at all? I’m just saying loosen your grip.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“Look. Look at me.”

“I’m looking, I’m looking at you right now.”

“Didn’t I tell you to trust the horse?”

“I trust him. But he doesn’t trust me!”

He tried to reassure her with, “Then, trust me. If you fall, I'll catch you."

“Really?”

“Look forward again,” and he motioned in front of them.

“I’m looking.”

“Now step on the stirrups and go up a bit.”

“Why?”

“We need to hurry. Have you played on the swings?

“Yes, I have. Why?”

“As if you’re playing on the swings, we’ll speed up slowly while balancing out.”

“Speed up?!”

“Tighten her belly, like this,” and he showed her. “Go gently and slowly…”

She tried it and the horse sped up, beginning to trot. She was delighted. “Ooooh! Psycho, look! I’m riding a horse!” She was thrilled to be riding, and although she knew she should try to find an exit out of this, she was enjoying herself and being with him. Mentally she shrugged her shoulders. Even though she had declared that she could find her way back to heaven’s gate and now even could ride a horse there, she knew she couldn’t. She’d lived in Gangnam for 10 years, still didn’t know her way around and often got lost. Who else could she trust and follow but this man?

After a little more riding instruction from the Commander, they continued on horseback until the forest light began to fade. He felt like he had used a month’s worth of words in teaching her. At last they stopped for the night and Young made a rough camp for them. As usual, Eun-soo talked and the reserved Young said very little. She had observed him gather some firewood and carry an armload over to the campsite. She said, “Wow, your body recovers fast. In a few days we can take out the stitches. You’ll be good as new. Why did you scare me to death when you recover this fast? I was afraid you were going to die.” He didn’t answer but got up and walked over to her horse. She continued, “Do you still have my aspirin? Be sure to eat it too, okay?”

He unstrapped a blanket from her horse, carried it back and tossed it to her, telling her brusquely, “Please cover up and get some sleep.” She looked at him and then got up and began to search for a place to lay down, walking away from Young. He called to her and pointed at the ground near him with his scabbard. “Sleep here, by my side.”

“Where?”

“Here.”

“It’s dark and we’re in the middle of nowhere, a man and a woman alone. And you ask me to sleep next to you? _Right_ next to you?”

Looking unconcerned by her display of modesty, he said, “It’s to protect you.”

She came toward him, shook out her blanket and lay it on the ground near him. “Do you usually like to protect things? Is it your job?” She laid herself down on the blanket and continued, “You have to protect the King. You have to protect your promises. And you have to protect me. And not just protecting, but even risking your life.” While she was speaking, Young was looking around, keeping his eyes and ears open. He was uneasy, sensing another presence.

She continued, “So the patient we are going to meet, he was the king before the current king? And you protected him as well? Did you?”

“I was his royal guard for three years.”

“Were you friends?”

He was a bit scandalized by her question. “He was my King and I was his servant. We were not in that kind of relationship, being close or not.”

“You were close…Or you wouldn’t go there when nobody is forcing you to.” He looked away from her. She went on, “Because that former king is sick…you’re worried, right?”

What she said was true, but he rarely divulged personal feelings. And his mind was on that other presence. So he simply said, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”

But she wasn’t that tired. “Can’t we just talk? We know so little about each other.” He looked at her as she asked, “Do you know my name? It’s Eun-soo. Yoo Eun-soo.” He shaped the words with his mouth. She continued, “Are you married? Since the people during these days get married early. Married? Wedded?”

“I haven’t.”

“So you aren’t. Would a woman like someone who stabs and kills people everyday?” She was really asking herself that question. Could she be with a man like him?

Many soldiers were married; it wasn't a drawback in his world. But her seemingly careless speculation was a tragic reminder for him. He did his best to keep the memories at bay, looked at her with exasperation and sighed “You should sleep. We have to leave early in the morning tomorrow.”

But she wasn’t done talking. “I haven’t either.”

“What?”

“I also haven’t married. My parents have a farm in the countryside, and I lived in Seoul enjoying my single life…Until you kidnapped me. My mother would have found out by now that I disappeared, and she’ll be crying.”

If she was hoping to make him feel guilty, he showed no sign of it. He was still too uneasy, looking around, and then told her, “I’m asking you. Please just be quiet and sleep.”

She reminded him, “You still have to keep your promise. After the former king is cured, you have to take me to Heaven’s Door.” He looked at her in silent acknowledgement, then looked away. He thought to himself that he absolutely couldn’t violate her trust. Until the day she left, he would protect her. And he had to stay alive to do that.

Satisfied that he was still intending to keep his promise to her, she said,“Hey, Psycho.”

“What?”

And to Young's relief, she told him, “Good Night. Sleep well,” and turned her back to him and went to sleep.

At the palace, Lady Choi talked with the King’s primary attendant, Do-chi. He told her that the King had not been sleeping well and neither was he eating well. They approached the King, who was standing in the court audience room looking at the throne. Lady Choi greeted him, “Your Majesty, it is I, Court Lady Choi.”

He turned to her with a smile, and asked, “Have you come to nag me?”

“It seems that you couldn’t get to sleep last night, so I will tell Royal Doctor to make some medicine. You will be able to rest awhile. And…I’m not sure if your taste has changed, but when you were little, you liked milk porridge. I will prepare it right away.”

The King came down the few steps to her floor level and addressed her. “Lady Choi.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“A King should think of his people first, right? Always thinking what would be best for the people. What if I …yield to that man and be a docile king to him …will that be of better help to my people? And stop worrying about standing against him or trying to win him over?

“The Commander and the High Doctor too…if they were not on my side but on his, then the danger for their lives would disappear, right? The Doctor is very brave, she will be treated well.”

Lady Choi answered, “For the last few decades, while I’ve lived in the palace, I’ve seen and heard many things. This is not for a mere palace lady to dare say, but …”

The King encouraged her, “Say it. I will listen.”

“If the man you mention is Prince of the Court from Deokseong, there is only one thing he thinks of…that is himself. ‘How can I become more powerful and wealthy?’ ‘How can I use those people to increase my fortune?’ To him, the people of Goryeo are not humans but tools and properties. Will you give your people to such a man?”

“But there is no other solution…I have thought over and over…but there is nothing I can do.”

Lady Choi maintained her calm composure, bowing each time that she spoke. “There are a few things that the king shouldn’t say: ‘There’s no other way.’ ‘There is nothing I can do.’ Those are things a king cannot say.”

“Cannot even say?”

“No”

“Because he’s the King?”

“Yes.”

The King smiled. “Indeed, you’re from the same family. You and Choi Young.” Lady Choi bowed very low to the King in acknowledgement. After a moment the King continued, “I missed the taste of milk porridge. Please prepare it.”

“I will do it immediately.” And she gave another bow. The King left and went to his quarters, accompanied by Do-chi.

After Eun-soo had bid him good night and turned over, Young looked at her back for a few minutes. Several feelings flitting through his mind and heart. She was a headache for him in many ways, but he also admired her courage in facing down the very scary Ki Chul and her skill as a doctor. He sighed, feeling responsible for causing her and her family grief by kidnapping her. He was also tired and his incision hurt. Then he remembered the bottle of medicine in his pocket. Her took out two tablets out and chewed them up, disregarding the bitter taste. As the medicine took effect, he felt more alive. In fact, he realized he felt more alive than he had in a long time. And it wasn’t only from the medicine. The Doctor was sometimes a pain to be with, but she was so vibrant and lively he felt drawn to her. But he kept those feelings deeply covered. He had no business having any feelings for her; his job was to help her leave.

Then he prepared to address his next problem. First, he needed to see if the High Doctor was indeed asleep. Her asked her softly, “Are you sleeping?” There was no response. Then he looked away and seemingly addressed the air, saying, “Are you going to stay there all night?”

Hwa Su-in walked into their camp, asking, “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting awhile.” She walked toward where Eun-soo was sleeping and Young threw a piece of firewood that stuck into the ground near Hwa Su-in’s feet, warning her to leave the High Doctor alone. She stepped around Eun-soo and returned to Young as he asked her, referring to Dae-man, “My man has not returned. Was it your doing?”

“I don’t know. It’s just so fun watching the two of you. There was no reason to be distracted by anything else.”

“Let me ask something.”

“What could it be? The question you can only ask after your lover is asleep. But, are you two really in love? Your lover called you a murderer.”

He asked his question as if she hadn’t spoken. “Your owner sending us to Ganghwa Island…it couldn’t be because he’s actually worried about His Majesty’s health. But if he wants to get rid of me and the Doctor, he wouldn’t use such a complicated method. Is he after the King?”

But she ignored his question just as he had ignored hers. She came over and sat on his lap, continuing in her flirtatious way, “But she still sleeps right next to you. What have you done to gain such trust? Have you thought of gaining my trust, too? It’s such a beautiful night.”

They continued in this way for a time. She finally grew bored with his lack of response to her and got up. And for his part, Young told her he had no interest in her; she was just an underling and had no information to share. He told her to leave so as not to startle the High Doctor, and he closed his eyes.

But she had one more thing to say. She came close to him again and said, “By tomorrow morning, my brother will meet His Majesty. And he will probably say this, ‘Now there are only five days left, until I promised to take the High Doctor’s heart. Maybe he will mention your name, too. I can feel how much he wants you.” Then she left. Young opened his eyes again and looked over at Eun-soo.

As Hwa Su-in had predicted, Ki Chul met with the King the next morning. Choon-sik was also in the room, guarding the King. Ki Chul, trying to drive a wedge between the King and his primary protector, Choi Young, said, “Your Majesty knows his Woodalchi Commander, Choi Young, right?”

Looking confident, the King replied, “I know him.”

“Do you also know that he came to my house and kidnapped the High Doctor?”

The King laughed. “Even if I heard those words, I wouldn’t believe it. I heard that the security at your place was better than the palace’s security itself. Who could ever get in there and kidnap anyone?”

“Although embarrassing, it is true. Because it happened so suddenly and he is one with great skill.”

“My Woodalchi’s Commander kidnapped the High Doctor from the heavens, you say.” The King looked at Choon-sik and asked him, “Why would he do that?”

Choon-sik replied, “We didn’t know anything about it, Your Majesty.”

Ki Chul had an answer, however, “Hmm…Might I dare to make a prediction of why he did so, Your Majesty?”

“Please do that.”

“Do you know that Choi Young was favored by the previous King, Prince Kyeong Chung? And also, the Prince is ill from a chronic disease, do you know that?”

The King looked to Choon-sik for confirmation, who said, “Prince Kyeong Chung had bad eyes and ears even before he was abdicated.”

Ki Chul continued, “If Choi Young took the High Doctor only because he was worried about the previous King’s chronic disease, then why? Why didn’t he get Your Majesty’s permission in advance? You wouldn’t refuse to let your nephew be treated.”

The King, still looking confident, said, “Prince of the Court from Deokseung, please get to your point.”

“Forgive my impertinence, but how much do you trust Choi Young? During your trip from Yuan, is your friendship only that one month old? They say that Choi Young and the former king’s relationship was not just one of bodyguard and king. After becoming King at the young age of 12, Choi Young was not only the reliable bodyguard, but also his teacher. They were as close as brothers.”

Ki Chul continued, “While kidnapping the High Doctor and taking her to His Majesty, did Choi Young ask your permission, even a single word of it?”

The King had stopped smiling. “So, right now, are you suggesting that my Woodalchi Commander is trying to rebel against me by re-enthroning the last king?”

The other man looked as if he hated to bring that kind of news to the King, saying with much concern in his voice, “Isn’t that right?”

Although he didn’t let it show, the King’s confidence had been shaken by Ki Chul’s argument, and it was shaken a bit further when he learned that Il-shin had tried to come to his quarters during his meeting. He had come, not to argue against Ki Chul, but to state his own belief that the Woodalchi Commander was betraying the King.

That same afternoon, Young and Eun-soo reached the place where the Prince lived, a modest cottage in a small village on Ganghwa Island. The Prince, who was alone in the cottage, heard their horses approach and sat up on his bed to see who was there. Although he was almost 15 years old, he was small for his age; illness had stunted his growth. When Young opened the doors, the Prince jumped up, hastily put his slippers on and cried, “Young! Young!”

The Prince ran to him but tripped right in front of him. Young caught him in his arms and raised him up. Smiling broadly, Young said, “Your Majesty, have you been well?” Eun-soo stood there in disbelief. The Commander’s expression was so warm and gentle; she was surprised to see this stoic man expressing such feeling.

But the Prince looked desperate, even tearful, saying, “Young, you have come. You came to see me, Young.” He had clearly not been having an easy time of it. He threw his arms around Young, which made Young smile even more broadly. He hugged the Prince back, meanwhile looking around the cottage. He didn’t like what he saw, and his smile slowly faded. Ashes had been left in the firepit and the place looked unkept. The Prince had been neglected by his caretakers. He hugged the Prince even closer.

After introducing Eun-soo to the Prince, Young sat to one side while she examined him. While she conducted her examination, the Prince said to Young, “I have heard rumors of this High Doctor from Heaven, Young. How you went up to Heaven yourself and brought her here.” Young chuckled to hear a description of his journey. The Prince continued, “I knew you would. Who else in the world could do a great thing like that? So, how was it?”

The Commander chuckled again and asked, “What do you want to know?”

“Everything about heaven. Are they all beautiful like her?”

Now Eun-soo chuckled. “You could be misunderstood as a playboy there!”

“Playboy?”

Young said, smiling and looking at Eun-soo, “Just ignore her. She says a lot of things that people in Heaven say.” Eun-soo continued to observe Young while she examined the Prince. He answered all of the Prince’s questions one by one, always with a smile and always in an animated voice. It was a side of him she’d never thought to see. And although she tried to chase the thought away, she had noticed the charming dimples on his cheeks when he smiled.

But as she examined the Prince, her thoughts quickly grew more serious. She asked the Prince, “Do you sometimes see a double vision or have pains in your ear?” She had found numerous small tumors in his ears, almost blocking the passage.

“Oooh, you are indeed a High Doctor. How do you know just by taking one look?”

“And you lose your hearing from time to time?”

“That’s right. There are times when I do.”

Eun-soo looked at Young with a serious expression on her face, and then back at the Prince. She asked him, “I’m going to take a look at your legs. May I roll up the pants?”

“Do as you please.”

While she looked at his legs, the Prince asked Young to tell him about Heaven.

Young’s eyes lit up with the wonderment he had experienced upon arriving in heaven. “Even though I didn’t get much chance to explore, the houses were tall enough to touch the skies. And at night, there were shining lights everywhere. The people ride something without horses. On that thing, there are strong lights that light up the road. There were also paintings made with lights.”

The Prince suddenly gasped with pain as Eun-soo pressed into his legs. Once again, the two adults looked at each other with serious expressions on their faces.

After awhile the Prince appeared to fall asleep. Eun-soo came over to where Young sat and told him, “I would need to do a CT scan or a biopsy to confirm, but judging from the tumors that are visible in his ears and the symptoms, I think it could be a cancerous tumor of the muscles.

“Do you think you can heal him?”

“Seeing how it has spread to his leg, it seems to be malignant.”

He repeated, “You will cure him?”

“The tumor may have spread into his abdomen. So he has to be operated on as soon as possible. And after that…”

His concern continuing to grow, he asked yet again,“So then, is it going to take a long time to cure him?”

“Even if the surgery is successful, he will need anti-cancer treatment…”

Becoming impatient, Young tried to stop her, saying, “High Doctor...”

“For a start, let’s move him to the Royal Medical Office. I need my surgery tools too, and we need Doctor Jang’s help.”

Young said with resignation in his voice, “That is not possible.”

“We have to go and perform surgery first!”

“We cannot go.”

“Why?”

“He is in exile. His Majesty is not allowed to leave this house. If he steps one foot outside of this house, it means he is breaking the law.

Although he had his back to them, the Prince was listening to their every word.

Back at the palace, the Woodalchi Vice Commander was increasingly worried about the King’s confidence in his Commander. He decided to secretly send a messenger to find him. He chose Ju-seok to go, saying, “Every second is precious. Go to the Commander and tell him everything. And tell him to come back to the palace, no matter what. If he is not careful, he will be accused of high treason. Even the King is starting to be suspicious of him.”

“I will bring back the Commander immediately.” Ju-seok got onto his horse, but before he could leave, Choon-sik grabbed the reins and gave one last urgent warning.

“If…although the Commander would never do that…for any reason…that the Commander lets Prince Kyeong Chung take a step out of that house….then from that moment, everything is over! Tell him that.”

“I will deliver the message.”

Ki Chul was also giving instructions. “Have you instructed the Ganghwa officials properly?” He asked his brother.

“Yes, I have told them more than once.”

“And my men?”

“They have already arrived and are waiting there.”

“And pledged sister Hwa Su-in?”

“She knows what to do on her own.” His brother added, “By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen you so nervous while preparing for anything.”

Ki Chul didn’t like hearing that, and stared down at his younger brother, who quickly backed off, saying, “ Oh, um, I mean, you look like you’re enjoying it.” Ki Chul curled his lip and left the room.

He went to another room where Yang-sa had brought the doctor’s surgical tools that he had taken from Dae-man. Looking at them, Ki Chul’s eyes widened in surprise. He picked up a scalpel, examined it and said, “I’ve seen this before… very similar…” He quickly gathered up the cloth containing the tools and rushed to another room with them, with Yang-sa and his brother close behind. He placed the tools on a table, then went to a large chest that contained some of his most treasured items. He opened it and took out a small wooden box with a hinged lid. He brought it to the table where the High Doctor’s tools were and opened it. There, although rusted, was an almost identical set of tools. He took a few items out of the box and set them on the table, then found similar items in the newer set of tools and lined them up with each other. The items in both sets had what looked like identical symbols on them. They all stared and gasped in amazement. “They’re almost the same! How can this be?” said Yang-sa.

His brother added, “Aren’t these tools the ones our teacher gave to you?”

“Yes, that’s right. I got these from our teacher. He said that these tools were used by Hwata.”

Stunned, Yang-sa asked, “Are you talking about the legendary Hwata?”

Ki Chul said in hardly more than a whisper, “Was that woman truly…Hwata’s disciple? Is she really from heaven?” He suddenly realized something. “Where is she at the moment?”

His brother replied, “At Ganghwa Island.”

Ki Chul cried, “She cannot be hurt! Tell them not to touch even a hair on her head!”

“It is…a bit late to change your order…I mean, the sun will be setting soon. And they are to start right after the sunset.”

“I will go. I will go get that woman myself,” cried Ki Chul, and he ran to leave.

At the Prince’s cottage, Eun-soo and Young had decided that, since the Prince couldn't leave, Young would go back to the palace for her tools and several medications, then return to the cottage with them. But before leaving, Young started a fire and heated hot water for tea, while Eun-soo entertained the Prince with stories of heaven. “In heaven, there are plenty of interesting things. Let me see…What should I tell you about first? Ah, there are girl bands. Like dolls, very pretty…”

Young interrupted them. “I will go and be right back. I will return before the sunset tomorrow.”

But the Prince, alarmed, sat up. “No! Stay with me tonight.”

Young stood up and faced the Prince. “Your Majesty…”

But the Prince spoke first, “Do you know how much I missed you, and how many things I want to ask you about?”

Eun-soo helped out, saying, “Let him go. I will tell you more about the heavens. Cars, planes, computers, girl bands, to games …I will tell you about everything!” The Prince seemed to accept that, as he was so excited to hear more about heaven.

The Commander asked her, “Do you need me to bring anything more?”

“If you can drag Doctor Jang here too, that would be even better. And can you buy more dumplings?”

With a wisp of a smile Young nodded to her, and then said to her with great earnestness, “I leave His Highness in your care.”

But the doctor responded with humor looking from one to the other, “What is this now? I’m even a babysitter? Later when you have to pay me, the amount will be massive. Are you prepared for that?”

Curious, the Prince asked, “What you just said, is that heaven talk? What does that mean?”

“What? Babysitter?”

Young interrupted them, taking his leave. Bowing deeply with, “I’ll be back soon,” he went to the door. Both the Prince and Eun-soo had big smiles on their faces and waved goodbye with both their hands, saying “Don’t take too long!” The Commander turned and smiled back at them. As he did so, an unbidden thought of the three of them living together as a family briefly went through his mind. Then he left, closing the door behind him.


	13. Episode 7, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young, the doctor and the young prince escape from a trap and hide in the forest. The king is persuaded that the Woodalchi have disobeyed his instructions and doubts Choi Young's loyalty.

**Ganghwa Island**

Swordsmen dressed in plain clothing lay in wait for Young as he emerged from the cottage. He walked down the steps to the road and stopped, hearing something but unsure where an attack was going to come from. A moment later one man leaped toward his side. The Commander stiff-armed him in the chest and he fell back. He fought off two others with his scabbard, not even having enough time to draw his sword. Hwa Su-in then appeared with more men. She smiled at him and said, “Where are you going?” His way forward blocked, he immediately went back into the cottage.

Eun-soo and the Prince were surprised to see him come back through the door in a rush. In a commanding voice he said, “Your Majesty! Stick to my back and follow me,” as he took the Prince’s hand, pulled him up from where he had been sitting and walked back toward the door.

Eun-soo stood and cried, “Why?!”

He looked at her and with great urgency said, “We have to run straight from here to the main gate. No matter what, don’t stop or don’t be left behind. Just follow right behind me. Are you ready?”

As usual, Eun-soo wanted more information saying, “What’s going on?” But he had no time for questions.

“If you are ready…” He drew his sword and said, “Let’s run.”

Hearing the urgency in his voice and deciding to completely trust him, Eun-soo picked up her purse, clasped it to her breast, and agreed, “Go!”

They left the cottage with Young walking in front of them, twirling his sword, something he often did to quickly limber his arm, wrist and hand up for a fight, and held the scabbard in his other hand. Eun-soo followed with her arm around the Prince. They didn’t get very far. Two men approached with swords and Young immediately killed them. Another approached on a ledge to the side of the Prince. Young leaped up and made a backhand swipe with his sword, disabling the man. But suddenly and from a different direction, nearly 20 government soldiers came running toward them. As they approached Young, they held their swords out toward him. One of them shouted, “Stop right there! You will not leave!”

Young began to explain, “I am Woodalchi Commander Choi Young. We have been attacked. So I am taking His Highness to safety…The assassins…”

Things got even more chaotic when a voice from behind them shouted, “Protect the King!” and another group of men, dressed in plain clothes, like the ones that had initially attacked the Commander, ran _past_ the Commander and his charges and directly at the soldiers.

The soldiers, assuming the attackers were in league with Choi Young, intending to put the young prince back on the throne, shouted, “Traitors! Attack them!” Young and his charges stood to one side and looked on with confusion while the two groups fought with each other. A group of archers on a balcony overlooking the fight took aim at the soldiers and hit several of them, driving them backward.

Hwa Su-in appeared, smiling while she stood behind the attackers, and told Young, “Will you become a traitor and be caught by the royal forces, or just come with us?”

Neither option was appealing. Trying to play for more time he replied, “Can’t I just go back into the house instead? I want to do that.”

But she countered, “You better choose now. The longer you take to decide, the more people are going to die.” The fight continued to rage around them between the plainly dressed men and the soldiers.

Declining responsibility for something she had set up, Young responded, “That’s not my problem.”

Then he turned to Eun-soo, who was staring in horror at the growing carnage in front of them. She asked, “A-Are those people fighting over us?” He acknowledged that they were. “But…which team is on our side?”

He sighed in frustration. “That’s a bit complicated.”

“Then why don’t we just pretend we don’t know them and run away from here?” He looked at her with impatience that slowly grew into a smile. She had given him an idea for a third option, and his smile in turn gave her courage.

He pointed in another direction, around the side of the cottage. “Go that way.”

The Prince asked, “Will you be okay, Young?” And the Commander reassured him, saying he’d soon be right behind them. Eun-soo and the Prince ran in that direction toward the forest. Hwa Su-in tried to stop them with one of her fireballs, but Young deflected it with the side of his sword, then followed Eun-soo and the Prince. Hwa Su-in diverted her men to pursue them, and Young was forced to slow down and fight a rearguard action to protect his charges. That gave Eun-soo time to secure one of their horses, and she waited in the forest with the Prince for the Commander.

Several minutes later he caught up to Eun-soo and the Prince, bloodied and breathing heavily from running while fighting. Knowing they were still being pursued, Young lifted the Prince onto the horse. Pointing further into the forest, he told Eun-soo, “Please go in that direction as far as you can. It will rain soon and that will stop them, so hide somewhere.” Then looking up at the Prince, he assured him, “The High Doctor will take care of you.” 

The Prince said, “What about you?”

“I will come later and find you.”

Fearful at those words, Eun-soo cried, “You’re not coming with us? Why?!”

He shouted at her, “For once, can you not say ‘why’ and just do what I want you to do?!” Then he softened for a moment and explained, “If we stay together, I won’t be able to fight properly.” He put the reins in her hands and added, “Now go. I will be able to find you wherever you are, so hide well.” He picked up his shield and sword and ran back to find the men still following them. Eun-soo looked after him anxiously. After a moment she gathered her courage and began to lead the horse ridden by the Prince through the forest.

Following the Woodalchi Vice-Commander´s orders to find Choi Young, Ju-seok had ridden hard and fast, and took a ferry to Ganghwa Island later that night. But just after arriving at the island he saw soldiers blocking the only road to the inner part of the island. To avoid being seen he turned from off the road into the forest and pondered how to reach Choi Young with the Vice-Commander’s urgent message. Suddenly, he heard movement nearby and turned, drawing his sword. His sword pointed at the throat of a man dressed as a huntsman, who softly said, “Whoa, whoa, I’m not your enemy,” holding his hand up in front of the sword point.

Ju-seok, keeping the sword within a few inches of the man, was skeptical. “How do you know who I am and say that you aren’t my enemy?”

“After seeing that style of clothing, it seemed that you are a Woodalchi guard.”

Still unsure, Ju-seok replied, “Wow, a mountain man knows how recognize a Woodalchi’s outfit?”

“Did you come to look for Commander Choi Young?”

Surprised, the Woodalchi thrust his sword toward the man again and demanded, “Who are you?”

Gingerly putting his hand up to Ju-seok’s sword as if to stop it, the huntsman said, “I’m also a guy who’s looking for Commander Choi Young. Because I received an order to find him and bring him back secretly.” Ju-seok noticed that the man held a serious hunting bow in his other hand and could have shot him at any time before being seen. At last he lowered his sword. The man told him he knew a path into the interior of the island and would take him there. The huntsman added, “Ganghwa Island is a disaster right now. Rumors are spreading that say, ‘Choi Young was trying to take Kyeong Chung secretly, but got caught,’ and, ‘There are more than a hundred men who are trying to bring Kyeong Chung back to the throne’ and, ‘No, there are even more gathering.’”

Jui-seok asked, “Who exactly said such nonsense?!”

“You really didn’t know? The Governor of Ganghwa Island already knew this yesterday, and the government guards were getting prepared, is what I’m saying. They know everything about when Choi Young would come and when Prince Kyeong Chung would move.”

“When did they know yesterday?”

“Yesterday afternoon. Already a command was circulated to all the guards to be ready for battle.”

Back at the palace, Il-shin was using those rumors to accuse Young of treason. “Your Majesty, Haven’t I told you from the beginning, not to trust Choi Young, until my throat was bleeding? Although I don’t know what Ki Chul has told you, please make a good decision. That man, Choi Young, was Ki Chul’s from the beginning. He went to his home alone and took the High Doctor with him to Prince Kyeong Chung. Dozens, hundreds of traitors guarded them, so they could escape from the exile site. It doesn’t make sense. He couldn’t have done it alone. Ki Chul must be behind him.”

The Queen was also concerned about what Choi Young was doing. An attendant told her that a report had come from Ganghwa Island and that the situation was very serious. Lady Choi hastened to the Royal Hospital to see if Dae-man was well enough to tell the Queen what he knew of Young’s intentions. Dae-man was still being treated for the poison he had inhaled, but she insisted on bringing him to the Queen. He was able to walk with a little assistance, and Dr. Jang went with them to the Queen’s quarters.

The Queen quizzed Dae-man about whether Ki Chul had allowed Choi Young to take the High Doctor, and whether he went there under Ki Chul’s orders. Dae-man said this was true. Then she asked if Choi Young had become one of the Prince of the Court’s men. Dae-man strongly denied it, but the Queen wanted to know why he was following Ki Chul’s orders if he wasn’t his man. But Dae-man didn’t really know why and couldn’t give a satisfactory answer to the Queen. She told him to leave and went back to her bed chamber. Lady Choi and Dr. Jang hastened to assure her that Choi Young wouldn’t have betrayed the King. Dr. Jang speculated that Ki Chul could have threatened the High Doctor. But the Queen impatiently cut them off. She knew the power of rumors in the court from her own experience in Yuan. She told them that people would find it easier to believe he was a traitor, and that it was always easier and more fun to blame someone than to understand.

Young was still conducting a rearguard action to stop Hwa Su-in’s pursuit. He slashed across the first man that attacked him, the man’s blood splattering across the air, suspended for a moment in the pearly white moonlight. Then he located and killed or disabled several more men, taking them by speed and surprise. Then he continued to backtrack, looking for additional pursuers. He found a few more and dealt with them as well. Hwa Su-in saw him and threw two of her explosive balls, one after another, which he fended off with his shield. He turned and ran into the forest. By that time it had begun to rain steadily, and she and the remaining men were unable to follow very far, losing his tracks in the rain.

Eun-soo had found shelter in a small hunting cabin in the woods. There wasn’t much there but at least there was a roof over their heads and a place for the horse. The sick Prince had been exhausted by their ordeal and had gone to sleep almost immediately. She set out bowls to catch the drips from the leaky roof and went outside to give the horse a little dried grass she’d found in an outside feedbox. There was a sheathed knife attached to the saddle and she drew the knife out, feeling fearful in the dark and the rain. Suddenly she felt movement behind her and whirled around, holding the knife out. In one motion Young twirled her back around and put her hands holding the knife against her neck, scolding, “Do you stab without even looking?”

She cried, “Well, you said I could never stab you…”

“Use the blade only when you’re sure. Because a knife can’t distinguish its owner from its enemy.” He let her go, and she gasped from the aftereffects of fear and anxiety.

As he entered the cabin, bloody, dripping wet and exhausted, she babbled with relief. “Why are you so late, do you know how long we waited? And how did you even find this place? So fascinating! I put your horse in there, so they won’t see it. I did a good job, right?”

He was too tired to respond to her; instead he walked over to the Prince to see if he was all right. He knelt by the Prince while she sat on the Prince’s pallet, continuing to talk. As she looked at Young, a lightning flash lit up his face, and she saw that his face and clothing were liberally streaked with blood.

Horrified, she cried, “Oh! Are you wounded?! Let me see!”

He turned his face away, telling her, “It’s not my blood.”

Suddenly reminded of the violence of this world and repulsed by the thought that he had just killed or wounded several people, she threw a cloth on the pallet near him and coldly told him, “Wipe it off.”

He looked up at her, surprised and vulnerable in his exhausted state. But she turned away, repelled by all the blood and the death happening around her. He took the cloth and got up. When he approached the Prince once again, she pushed him away, telling him to leave the kid alone.

Offended on behalf of the Prince, he said, “What do you mean, ‘kid’? Who are you talking about?” But she didn’t respond and didn’t look at him.

He gave up and, effectively banished, went to the other side of the room and sat down with a soft groan, leaning against a wooden support post. He used the cloth to wipe most of the blood from his face. He looked over at the High Doctor, and saw that she was caring for the Prince, stroking his head gently to soothe his pain. So tired he could hardly move and fairly confident that their tracks had been covered by the rain, he leaned against the post for the rest of the night and tried to rest while still keeping an ear out for danger. And Eun-soo, once she was sure that the Prince was sleeping well, went to sleep herself on the pallet next to the Prince.

That same night, the huntsman and Ju-seok continued their search for for the Woodalchi Commander, stopping during the worst of the rain and then resuming once it had stopped. Ju-seok hadn’t seen any soldiers for awhile and wondered if they’d been withdrawn. Or perhaps they’d figured out where Choi Young was hiding. The huntsman opined that they most likely had gone to Ganghwa’s exit road to watch there, because the local government guards would be searching the inner part of the island. Ju-seok started off in one direction but the huntsman called him back, pointing to some relatively fresh horse dung leading in a different direction, which they followed.

The next morning, Eun-soo awoke while the Prince was still sleeping. She looked over at Young, who was still leaning against the post with his eyes closed. He looked utterly exhausted. She also felt regretful about how she had treated him the night before. She was alternately attracted to and repelled by this man who killed people as a matter of course. She softly called to him, “Hey…” He immediately opened his eyes and looked over at her. She asked, “Last night, while I was sleeping, did you get some sleep?” He stared at her, and remembering her harsh behavior the night before, gave her a sour look and turned away. Undeterred, she continued, “Then that means you haven’t had a wink of sleep since you regained consciousness. During that time, you fought, rode a horse, fought again, and kept protecting…” She sighed, again regretting her attitude toward him the previous night and determined to do something about it. She got up, went over to him and sat down right next to him, her arm brushing his sleeve. Surprised, he opened his eyes and stared at her, then leaned away. In his culture, unmarried men and women weren’t physically close unless they were in a committed relationship. He got up with a groan, walked across the room to another post and sat down with another soft groan. But she wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. She went over to him and sat down a second time, so close to him that they touched.

He looked disapprovingly at her again, and asked, “What are you doing?”

She tapped her shoulder nearest him and said, “Here. Lean on my shoulder and sleep. From here on, I will protect you. So rest your eyes.”

He huffed in disbelief, “Are you asking a man to lean on a woman’s shoulder?”

“I am telling someone who is more tired to lean on someone who is well rested. Why do you have to bring up ‘man’ and ‘woman’? Here, lean on me and rest. I said I’ll keep watch.”

He turned his head away, but he was too tired to move again. She said, “I heard that you like to sleep a lot.” She continued in a deeper voice, imitating a Woodalchi, “He would sleep for three days and three nights. Then he wakes up and eats food for three days and three nights, then he goes back to sleep. That’s why our Commander is so great.” Eun-soo chided him, “So stop putting on airs, and just rest. If a person doesn’t sleep well, he loses his appetite and concentration, gets depression and even obesity…So just sleep…”

Whether she’d finally worn him down or he was too exhausted to stay awake, he soon leaned against her and his head fell onto her shoulder. She slowly reached over to take his pulse, first on his wrist, then holding her hand to his forehead, and was relieved to find it normal. She noticed an odor and turning to him, sniffed, wrinkling her nose and muttering, “The smell of blood.” He woke slightly at hearing that, but too tired to care, went back to sleep while resting on her shoulder, comforted by the faint scent of flowers.

Later that same day, Eun-soo examined the Prince again, who was in great pain. Young brought in fresh water and had relit a fire to make tea.

“Do you have pain in your ear?” she asked.

The Prince touched his ear, saying, “H-here.” Every so often he gasped with the pain.

“Did you have this kind of pain often? How often?”

Young interjected, “Why do you keep asking him?”

“The tumor in his ear is touching the nerve. That’s why he has a pain. Do you have my aspirin?”

“What?”

“The medicine I gave you.”

“Ah.” He searched through his pockets, found it and gave the bottle to her.

She shook out one of the tablets, telling Young, “Aspirin isn’t that strong of a pain killer, but since he doesn’t have any tolerance to modern medicine, this pill will help.” They lifted the Prince to a sitting position to take the pill.

She said to the Prince, “Bear with the pain for a little while. The medicine will take effect soon.”

Young was distressed on behalf of the Prince, “Just how soon? He’s in too much pain. What about acupuncture?”

“Acupuncture…that’s not my specialty.”

Young anxiously pressed her further, “Is this all you can do? Do something!”

But just as she had taken on Ki Chul, she wasn’t taking any guff from Choi Young, either. She retorted, “My sincere apologies for not bringing some medicine with me while I was being dragged here! You should have given me some hint, then I would have brought all kinds of pain killers.” Then she muttered to herself, “This kidnapping jerk. Just who does he think he’s yelling at?”

He was taken aback, unsure what to say, and finally said, “Jerk?” He didn’t know what it meant but it was clear it wasn’t a compliment.

Eun-soo had an idea about how to help the Prince. She smiled at him and took his small hands in hers, saying, “This is a method I use when I’m in pain. There’s a person named Yang Hee Eun. In my world, she’s like a godmother of singing, as she’s soooo good at it. If you say it her way the pain will disappear. Follow me.” And in a musical tone of voice she stated firmly, “‘You! What is your name?’”

The Prince was cringing in pain, but she urged him to say it, repeating very firmly, “Try it. ‘You! What is your name?’”

The Prince was barely able to get the words out, “Y-you. W-w-what is your name?” while still cringing in pain.

“Not like that. Follow me. ‘You! What is your name?’ The Prince repeated the phrase, a bit stronger this second time.

She continued, “‘Who the hell do you think you are that you’re hurting me like this?’”

Still cringing, the Prince repeated, “Who are you to hurt me like this?”

Young had looked indignant on behalf of the Prince when she began, but as she continued coaxing the Prince, he saw what she was trying to do. The Prince was acting a little stronger, distracted from his pain.

Eun-soo went on, “And then you look straight at your pain. And then…” She broke into an off-key song, performing as if she was on a stage,

“ _Look at the pine trees_

_So green in the field._

_Though no one takes care of the_ _m_

_Through_ _harsh rains_ _and snows,_

_To the end of the world_

_They are clean and green_.”

But their desperate situation reasserted itself almost immediately. Young suddenly motioned the others to be quiet. He had heard a sound outside the cabin and quietly went out the back door.

Approaching the cabin and unsure who was inside, Ju-Seok went around one side of it to watch the cabin while the huntsman approached more openly. Shortly Ju-seok heard the huntsman cry out and when he looked in that direction, he saw the him bent over with the Commander holding his arm behind his back and pushing his head down. Young spotted Ju-seok and asked, “Who is this guy?”

Ju-seok couldn’t help but grin widely, seeing him alive and well, and shouted, “Commander!”

Meanwhile, Ki Chul had caught up with Hwa Su-in on Ganghwa Island. She reported that she had lost Choi Young’s and the High Doctor’s trail in the rain. But much to her surprise, he said, “Good job. Now it gets even more entertaining.” He was pleased that the High Doctor was safe. Now he could run an interesting game with Choi Young and the Prince and still end up with her in his possession.

Hwa Su-in was flummoxed. “So…did I really do well?” She sighed with exasperation as Ki Chul left and asked Eum-ja, “Just what is he thinking? In his mind there are a dozen poisonous snakes!” But Eum-ja drew out a cloth from his pocket and teasingly laid it against her mouth to stop her from criticizing her pledged brother any further.

In the cabin, Young talked with the huntsman, whose employer was none other than the Governor of the Gangwha Island. The huntsman told him that the Governor wanted to hear directly from Choi Young before determining whether he had been trapped or was part of a treasonous conspiracy. Ju-seuk was relieved that the governor seemed open to hearing his side of things. But Young asked, “If I had meant to betray the King from the beginning, did he tell you to bring us back even if that’s the case?”

The huntsman replied, “If you’re really committing treason, you wouldn’t follow a guy like me. Am I wrong?” He left the cabin briefly to load his horse for the day’s ride.

Eun-soo said she was worried that the Prince’s pain would soon return. She also thought it wasn’t good for him to move around.

Ju-seok quietly asked the Commander if he knew the Governor of Ganghwa, and if he could trust him. Young said no to both questions. But he was out of options, especially given the state of the Prince. Young told Ju-seok to go back to the palace with a message for the King. Ju-seok was concerned, saying, “Others have been telling the King that you’re trying to put the Prince back on the throne…Honestly, I was secretly sent by the Vice-Commander. Meeting you in secret like this…If the King were to find out...”

Young tried to reassure him, “He won’t kill you for giving him this message.”

“Do you think so?”

Young chuckled mirthlessly, “Well, I don’t really have complete faith in that.”

“Commander!”

“If you survive after telling him my words, come back with the King’s reply. I will try to last until then.”

“So you’re saying the King will give me a reply for you?”

The Commander grew serious. “Didn’t I tell you that I, too, am unsure?” He put his hand on Ju-seok’s shoulder, leaned over until their heads almost touched, and told him, “If you are killed because of me, there’s something I want to tell you.” Looking sincerely into Ju-seok’s eyes he said, “I am sorry.” Ju-seok realized how much his life would be on the line when he approached the King. In spite of the danger, he was a loyal man and would do what he could for his Commander.

At the palace, the estranged King and Queen sat across from each other with a wide table between them. Lady Choi stood near the Queen and Dr. Jang stood in the middle between them. The King said to the doctor, “Please ask her if she’s worried that much.” Dr. Jang repeated the question to the Queen.

She answered, “Yes. Tell him that.”

Dr. Jang repeated her reply to the King, who said, “Ah. Because she was so worried about Woodalchi’s Choi Young, the Queen prepared this tea to talk to me. Well then. Ask her what I should do for her.”

Dr. Jang posed the question to her, but she interrupted him before he finished. “Grant me permission to go to Ki Chul!”

Dr. Jang said to her, Your Majesty…” but she again interrupted him, “Tell the King!”

Not waiting for Dr. Jang´s repetition, the King replied to Dr. Jang but looked directly at the Queen. “This is why I called you, Royal Doctor. I don’t think the Queen is in her right mind. How did her head also get wounded along with her neck? She needs treatment.”

The King got up to leave, but before he could do so, the Queen told him, “I will tell him to exchange with me.” All of them looked at her with surprise. She continued, “I will offer myself in exchange for the Woodalchi Commander and the High Doctor.”

Speaking directly to her, her husband said scornfully, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No matter what, I am the Princess of the Yuan land. Even if he may want to, Ki Chul will not do anything to me in his house.”

The King huffed, “So, like before, you want to go to his place? Without my permission, without my knowledge, to ask him to let Choi Young and the Doctor go, and take you instead of them?”

But she persisted, “I also planned to give him some other things.” As the King shook his head, she continued, “If he wants money, I was going to give trading rights with Yuan. And if he wants power, then…”

The King angrily strode over to her and took her by the shoulders and pulled her close. The others in the room averted their eyes from this royal confrontation. He whispered, “Just how far…How much more will you humiliate me? I, the King, has lost his most loyal subject. Even if he betrayed me, I have nothing to say. But now, even my own wife makes me feel miserable, trying to give her life for what?” He put his head next to hers so he could whisper in her ear even more softly, “Do I look so pathetic? Do you love him that much? So much you even dare to do that for him?”

She slowly replied, “I thought my King needs him more than he needs me.”

The King pulled back a little, surprised. He asked, “Why?”

“Your Majesty would never have known this, but … You’ve never even tried to know this, but I..I…”

All at once the King heard one of the Woodalchis guarding them shout, “Stop! Stop right there!”

Earlier in the day at Ki Chul’s mansion, his brother and Yang-sa took a message from a homing pigeon’s leg, looked at each other significantly, and wasted no time contacting a few of the King’s advisors who in turn talked to others. As a result the advisors Ja-won and Il-shin rushed to find the King, interrupting the King and Queen’s conversation. The King’s guards were blocking the two advisors, but Il-shin began frantically calling out to the King. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your subject, Il-shin, is here! Were you safe?”

His conversation with the Queen interrupted, the King asked them, “What is all this?!”

Il-shin cried, “Your Majesty, I will save you! I came here to save you, Your Majesty!”

And Ja-won, the long-time minion of Ki Chul’s, shouted, “Listen to me, Woodalchi Guards. Are you now taking His Majesty as a hostage?!”

Perplexed, Choon-sik asked, “We are what? Just what are you…”

Ja-won continued, “Did Woodalchi guards harass you, Your Majesty?!”

The King asked, “What is it you’re trying to say?”

“The Woodalchi Commander is seeking to betray you. The subordinates of that person should never be near you!”

Choon-sik turned to the King and cried, “Your Majesty! That is not true!”

The King also chimed in to support the Woodalchi, saying, “They are here protecting me under my orders. They know nothing of their Commander, so…”

But Il-shin interrupted him. “No, our young and pitiful Majesty! I have information that they are communicating with the Woodalchi Commander secretly! I found out everything and came here running! You Woodalchi bastards!”

Ja-won added, pointing at the Woodalchi guards, “Will you answer after getting tortured, one by one? One of you guys…Who went to Choi Young? Tell me now! Are you taking His Majesty as a hostage as part of your Commander’s plot?”

Hearing this new information, the King, along with Lady Choi and Dr. Jang, stepped down and approached Choon-sik with a grim expression on his face. Choon-sik looked nervous and wouldn’t meet the King’s eyes. In a deathly quiet voice, the King asked, “Is this true? Were you, without me knowing, _communicating with your Commander_?”

Choon-sik, looked around, trapped, then fell to his hands and knees, crying, “Your Majesty!” The rest of the Woodalchi also kneeled before the King. The King was sorely disappointed and unsure what to think. Could there be some truth to the accusations? After all, the Commander had not been in touch with him for since he left the Medical Office. Surely he could have sent some word by now.

Yielding to his own doubts and those of his advisors, the King ordered the Woodalchi confined to their barracks and their weapons confiscated. Ki Chul’s brother came there with royal guards and laid out the terms of their confinement. “Underlings of the traitor Choi Young, listen to me. Soon your leader’s treason will be clearly revealed. Until then, if you are not part of his plot, don’t set foot out of these barracks. If you you are found to be plotting anything, these barracks will become a sea of fire.” Then he turned and left. Choon-sik and the other Woodalchi were distraught but unable to do anything but wait.


	14. Episode 7, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young and his party are escorted to the island's Governor's compound, where Choi Young is forced to make a terrible decision.

**Governor’s Compound, Ganghwa Island**

After seeing Ju-seok off, the rest of Young’s small group made their way to the Ganghwa Governor’s residence. The Governor’s huntsman led them into the compound and left them. It was a beautiful group of low buildings with gardens, almost as nice as Ki Chul’s mansion, but smaller overall. As they were led by a servant further into the compound, the Governor himself came rushing to greet them. He was a slightly built, middle-aged man with gray hair and a neatly trimmed mustache and beard, and he wore a beautiful red silk robe with a matching long jacket. He bowed deeply to the Prince, saying, “Ahn So-ho greets Your Highness.” 

The Prince inclined his head, replying, “It’s been a long time.”

The Governor turned to Eun-soo and asked, “Are you the High Doctor?”

“Yes, well…sort of. Hello,” and she bowed to him.

Lastly, he turned to Young and began to greet him, but Eun-soo interrupted him. “Excuse me. His Highness needs a place to rest. He is very exhausted. Can we do introductions later?”

The Governor quickly said, “This way,” and led them to their quarters in a separate building from the main one, then left to talk with Young. The Prince laid himself down on the bed with Eun-soo next to him. She asked, “How are you feeling?” He told her his head hurt less so the medicine she had given him must be really good. She left him to rest, telling him that she’d seen an herb garden on their way in and was going to see if some of them might be helpful. She thought she had seen a peppermint plant that might help with his pain. The Prince also told her that the spell she had taught him was working, too.

Surprised, she said, “Spell?”

The Prince repeated, “You! What is your name? I dare you to hurt me!” And he smiled at her.

Meanwhile the Governor and Young conversed while strolling through the compound. Stroking his beard, the Governor asked, “You think His Majesty will understand this is a trap?”

“Yes.”

“Following that, now you’re just waiting for the King’s order.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You want me to just believe you.”

“You must. Otherwise, Governor, you’re doing a very dangerous thing.”

“Exactly. As I’d be talking to a traitor who is taking the exiled former king and trying to bring him back to the throne. That is very dangerous.”

“You are not only talking to him but protecting him.”

“Is that so?” Chuckled the Governor.

“Actually,” Young stopped and turned to him, “I had some doubts about why you would be willing to do this.”

“Doubts? Me?”

“It wouldn’t be for me, who is a stranger. Perhaps, are you actually trying to commit a treason with Prince Kyeong Chung, His Highness?”

The Governor looked at him incredulously and laughed. “Look here. You said you’re Choi Young?”

“Yes.”

“I am a public servant. If I want my later generations to keep this position, what do you think are the three most important things to do?”

“I don’t know. Because I haven’t thought about ‘later generations.’”

They both looked up to see the High Doctor heading for the herb garden with a basket on her arm. The Governor continued, “When we have a chance, I will teach you. One by one, I will teach you about it.”

Concerned that the Prince had been left alone, Young walked over to where Eun-soo was examining and picking leaves from some of the plants. He asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m collecting herbs to use them for painkillers.” Holding up a stem with several large leaves on it, she said, “This is peppermint. I know a little about this. They put it in my favorite cocktail, called a ‘Mohito.’” She smacked her lips, saying, “It’s really good.”

“Finish up and let’s go. His Highness is alone.”

“Isn’t it safe here? If you’re worried, just go in first.” She continued looking at the peppermint. “I just don’t know how to make a medicine out of this. Do I grind it or boil it?”

Puzzled, Young asked, “Imja, aren’t you a doctor?”

“In our time, the doctors don’t make their own medicine. Pharmaceutical companies make it and their salespeople sell it. So just what do the doctors do? We just have to look up the names in the computer. The medicines that I need are all on the comp-” She stopped, realizing that he had no frame of reference for what she was saying. While she had been talking, she had picked a small yellow mum. She held it out to him. “For you.”

He just looked at her. “What?”

Still holding the flower out to him, she said, “The flower, it’s for you.”

He had no frame of reference for this, either. He looked at it briefly but made no move to take it from her, only replying, “Let’s go,” and turned to leave. 

She caught his shoulder, saying, “Wait! Hold on, stop moving!”

“Why?”

“I said don’t move!” He paused. She reached to the side of his head, saying, “There’s something there. What’s that? Let me see.” She quickly tucked the flower behind his ear and then started laughing, enjoying teasing him and seeing a flower in the hair of this very serious warrior. She cried, “Oh, I’m going crazy,” as she bent over, laughing uproariously. He just stared at her in his somber way, which made her laugh even harder, crying, “It looks perfect on you!”

Finally his eyes moved toward that side of his head and he put his hand to his ear, brushing the flower away. He looked down at the flower on the floor, then looked up and sighed. “Is it that funny?”

She finally paused in her laughing and smiled at him. “It’s because I like the fragrance of the flower. It covers up the smell of blood.” That gave him pause as he briefly looked down at the flower again. He followed her as she returned to their quarters.

As they approached the small building housing their rooms, Young saw that guards had been placed on the narrow balcony that went all around it. Concerned, Young hurried there but was met by the Governor coming down the steps. The Governor put his finger to his lips saying, “Shhh! His Highness is sleeping.” When Young started to go up the steps anyway, the Governor stopped in front of him and indicated the guards. “These are my men. They might not be as good as your men, but they are skilled. They will protect the Prince.” Then turning to Eun-soo, he asked, “You haven’t had breakfast, have you?”

“No! We haven’t had anything since last night. Although there is someone who says he’ll protect me,” as she glanced meaningfully at Young. “But he doesn’t seem to bother about eating.” This finally drew the Commander’s attention away from their rooms and, when the Governor said that a meal had already been prepared, he allowed him to escort them there. The Governor engaged Eun-soo in conversation, telling her that he wasn’t sure she’d like what they had prepared, and she replied that she wasn’t picky about her food, although she’d like some spicy red kimchi. Young glanced back as they left, still uneasy about leaving the Prince.

The Commander had good reason to be uneasy. Ki Chul had come to their rooms and was already talking with the young Prince. The Prince of the Court said, “If you decide to scream right now, Choi Young can still hear you.”

“If I summon Young…If Young comes, what will you do?”

Smiling, Ki Chul asked, “You know what I’ll do. He is someone who forced Your Highness to step out of the house.”

“This is not true!”

“He’s plotting a rebellion by trying to install you as King again.”

Visibly upset, the Prince cried, “No!”

“The Woodalchi soldiers who follow Choi Young have all been arrested. Your uncle, the King, ordered it. Now the only thing left is to capture Choi Young and turn him over to the King and execute him with the most horrible method. Fit for a most treacherous criminal.”

Tears rolled down the Prince’s face as he listened to Ki Chul. He was sick and in pain, feeling alone and vulnerable. Still, he tried to protect the Commander. “All this is a setup. I know the truth. Young was just…”

Ki Chul nodded, “Of course it was a trap, one that I created. I have always been good at doing these kinds of things.”

“How…Why?”

“For several reasons. First, I want to have Choi Young. And if I have Choi Young, the High Doctor will follow close behind. Also, I just don’t like the new young King. I want to teach him a lesson. Just how shall I do it? Would you, Your Highness, like to take the throne again? Give me the command and I will make it all come true.”

While Ki Chul was with the Prince, Eun-soo, Young and the Governor were sitting at a small table in the garden. She was happily sampling the several dishes put before them while Young sat there for politeness' sake, still uneasy. The Governor continued his pleasant conversation with Eun-soo, but Young eventually interrupted them and impatiently asked her, “Aren’t you done yet?”

With her mouth full, she looked at him angrily and said, “Noisy! Shuddup!”

“Just how much more can you eat?”

“Haven’t you heard that saying, 'When eating, even a dog is left alone'?! Since I don’t know when I’ll be eating again, I have to take advantage of the opportunity…”

“Then take your time. I’m going to leave first.”

As Young started to get up, the Governor said forcefully, “Commander Choi.” He sat down again to hear what the Governor had to say.

Meanwhile, Ki Chul continued his conversation with the Prince about Young. The young Prince said, “Because I am young I may not know the world. However, I know this. The kind of man Choi Young is would not commit treason.”

Ki Chul thought the prince was very naive. “Hmm, Your Highness, you don’t really know just how far a person will go for his interest and his life. No matter how much of a loyal person he is…”

“Young is too lazy to plot that sort of thing.”

Ki Chul chuckled, “Too lazy?”

“The Young that I know will not involve himself with something as cumbersome as treason."

“But Your Highness, whether he actually committed treason or not, is not that important. It’s only whether I have him executed for committing treason or save him. Choose one of the two.”

“If I make him bend his knee to you, you will save him?”

“That’s right. It’s that simple.”

“He will never do that.”

The smile left Ki Chul’s face. “How so?”

“I already told you, Commander Choi Young is lazy. He will never beg for his life to someone he dislikes.”

The smile returned. “Shall we make a bet? Choi Young will do anything to save his own life. If necessary, he will abandon Your Highness or the King. All humans are like that.” But the Prince vigorously shook his head.

While they sat with the Governor in the garden, Eun-soo continuing to eat, the Governor asked Young, “What if Prince Kyeong says that he wants to be the King again, and asks for your help?” The Governor smiled as though he was just speculating.

Very seriously, the Young replied, “Let’s say that I didn’t hear that.”

Chuckling, the Governor asked, “But I’ve said it, so think about it.”

Moving in his seat uneasily, Young replied, “Although I’m just a mere military officer who is living by the sword, I have a mind, too.” Eun-soo paused in her eating, looking first at one then at the other, realizing the conversation was going in a serious direction. Young went on, “In this situation and with that kind of question, a person who has a mind won’t answer it.”

The Governor grew testy. “I am risking my own life bringing you to my house and feeding you with my food. I think that’s the least you could do for me.” Young stared at him.

Concluding his conversation with the Prince, Ki Chul took out a small, covered pottery vial and moved closer to the Prince, within an arm's length. He showed it to the Prince. “Do you know what this is? It’s Hwa Go poison. If a person drinks it, it burns all the organs of that person. From the throat to the organs, one by one, it burns all slowly. I heard that there is no comparable pain to that in this world. Give this to Choi Young and tell him to drink it and die for you. Tell him that Ki Chul will assign the sin to him and let you live. Do you think that man will obediently drink it to save you? Don’t you want to know?” 

The young Prince, feeling terrible and overwhelmed by the conversation, started to roll to his side, but Ki Chul caught him and helped him sit upright again. With his arm still around the Prince, he said, “Actually, Your Highness is innocent. If Choi Young dies, everything that happened will be solved. Or…you will have to die for him, put to death by dismemberment as a traitor.”

“You said you wanted to have Young. So…why do you want to kill him?”

“To make you understand. You really don’t know what humans are capable of. So I want to teach you. The truth is Choi Young is a dead person no matter what. So, tell him to just save Your Highness and die.”

The Prince put his hands around the vial and said in a trembling voice, “Choi Young. Is there no way to save him?”

Ki Chul winced as though it pained him to say, “Then that means you have to die for him. Since he can’t enthrone a dead king, he will not be found guilty of treason. Tsk.” Feigning sympathy with the Prince, he sighed deeply and patted him on the back.

Still at the breakfast table with Young and Eun-soo, the Governor pressed the question again. “If Prince Kyeong Chung asks you to help in his restoration, what will you do, Choi Young?”

Without a pause Young replied, “I would need to kill Prince Kyeong Chung.” Eun-soo suddenly choked on her food. Young continued, “I am a Woodalchi who protects the King. If there is a person who tries to harm the King, no matter who it is, killing that person is my job.”

The Governor smiled, satisfied to learn where the Commander stood.

Alarmed by the Governor’s questions, Young abruptly excused himself and headed back to their quarters, followed closely by Eun-soo. She called to him, “Look, wait …” He stopped and she caught up him, saying, “His Highness and I…Send us to heaven. I’ll take His Highness and go to our world. I can do the surgery there and treat him for cancer. We can save him!”

He was doubtful. “Even if you both decide to go, I can’t guarantee you that the Heaven’s Door will be open.”

“Then what is guaranteed here? You’re now being accused of treason, right? I watched several historical dramas, too, so I know that. We will all die! You will get me killed, too.” Then, when he didn’t respond, she cried, “Don’t just stand there, say something! Aren’t I right?”

He paused for a moment more, then replied, “Do you know the way to that gate?”

“I will ask people on the way…”

“How will you avoid the government guards?” Having pointed out the flaw in her plan, he turned and headed for their quarters to check on the Prince.

She called after him, “You can come with us! You won’t ever have to kill anyone there. So let’s go together to the heaven world. Come with me.” Her invitation stopped his heart for a moment. But then logic reasserted itself; he knew they’d never make it with the Prince in his condition. He walked on.

As Young approached their quarters, he was dismayed to see that there were no longer any guards stationed around the building. He rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and went through the outer door. Inside, he slid open the door to the Prince’s room. He saw the Prince lying in bed and felt relieved to see him still there. He smiled as he came into the room, saying, “Have you had some rest?” He knelt by the Prince and put his hand on the Prince’s arm. He noticed sweat on the Prince’s brow and a pained expression on his face. He asked, “Are you in pain again?” The Prince did not answer him, but he was clearly suffering. Young called out for the High Doctor. She came running and knelt down beside the Prince and next to Young.

She asked, “Where is he in pain?” as she began to check his vital signs. She rolled up a sleeve and saw that the skin on his arm was flushed dark red and mottled. She gasped, “What’s this?! What’s wrong with his arm?” She checked his other arm and saw the same thing.

Just then, Young saw the small pottery vial beside the Prince and picked it up. It was empty. He sniffed it and his eyes widened in horror. He slowly put it down while looking at the Prince, stunned. “Your Highness, did you drink this? This is the smell of Hwa Go poison. You wouldn’t have…”

Eun-soo asked, “What is that?”

But Young ignored her, urgently asking, “Who gave you this? Tell me, who?!”

She repeated, “I said, what is that?!”

Frantic, Young told her as he began opening the Prince’s tunic, “It’s poison. When a person drinks this, all their internal organs will start to burn.”

“How could such a thing…” And then Young finished opening the Prince’s tunic, exposing his chest. The skin there was also dark and mottled, with many blisters as the skin was starting to peel away. Eun-soo exclaimed, “It’s like some type of acid!”

Young shouted at her, “I said, it’s Hwa Go poison!! You don’t even know that? Do something!!”

She cried, “How dangerous is it?”

“If you drink this, you can’t even die easily. Your internal organs will burn, but you won’t die right away.”

“For poison, if I try gastric lavage…” and then she stopped, realizing she didn’t have the tools to do that.

At her lost look, he pressed her, “Imja. What is it? You don’t know? Is there no way? Nothing?”

She felt embarrassed to realize she had so little to offer in this situation, and she apologized, saying she was sorry. Realizing he was on his own, Young gathered himself, lifted the Prince to a sitting position and told her to go get some water, perhaps they could at least get his fever down and soothe his skin. She ran to find water. He braced the Prince’s back against his knee and put his arm around his shoulder. He saw the Prince open his eyes. “Your Highness!”

With great effort the Prince told him, “Prince of the Court from Deokseong taught me this. What I should do to save you…”

Nearly snarling, Young asked, “Ki Chul…Did that man come? Was it that man?”

The Prince said, “He probably didn’t know…”

His eyes reddening with grief and anger, Young asked again, “Did that man feed you poison? Did he give Your Highness …”?

The Prince's voice was so weak it quavered. “Well, I can’t live very long anyway…He did not know that. So that’s why he told me to make you drink this poison. But why would I do that?”

Young’s eyes filled, and a tear began to slide down his cheek. “Then…you instead of me…drank it?”

The Prince was gasping as he breathed. Young asked him if it hurt a lot. But the Prince asked, “Can I also go there? There…heaven…”

Young smiled through his tears and assured him, “Of course…”

Gasping through the pain, the Prince said, “Tell me. About there. Heaven.”

Young pulled the Prince into a loving embrace and began to describe heaven. “Carriages without horses run by themselves. Very wide roads are filled with those kinds of carriages. The world…was full of light. Because Heaven had so many shining lights…”

With his head resting on Young’s shoulder, the Prince choked out, “It hurts…it hurts, Young.”

Young, his face wet with tears, finished with, “So if you get to go there, no matter how dark the night is, you will never lose your way.”

“It hurts…so much.”

Young squeezed his eyes shut, in agony himself. He let his breath out, panting, realizing he’d been holding it in, and steeled himself. He took the Prince from his shoulder and looked directly at him, saying, “Now…I will make you not be in pain any longer.” Nearly sobbing, he asked, “Would it be …alright if I do so?”

The Prince replied, gasping again, “Yes. You may do that. It hurts…so much.”

Choi Young had delivered the warrior’s mercy to several comrades over the years whose battle injuries were too dire to survive, and their only other option was to die a slow, agonizing death. But he had never killed a child, much less a master who he had sworn to protect with his life. So heartsick that he moved numbly, he reached for his knife, carried in his belt behind him. Cradling the Prince in his left arm, he expertly placed the knifepoint just below the Prince’s breastbone. Then, with one quick thrust in and up, he pierced the Prince’s heart. He hugged the Prince to his chest and shoulder while the Prince gasped, shuddered and then grew limp. It was a quick death. And then Young did sob, tears rolling down his face. He pulled the knife out and very slowly laid the Prince’s body down on the bed. He felt almost in a trance, finding it hard to believe what had just happened and what he had had to do to end the Prince's terrible suffering.

After a few minutes he heard Eun-soo enter their quarters and pulled himself together. He quickly wiped his tears away with his left hand so she wouldn’t see them. Eun-soo came in with water in a bucket and saw Young sitting over the Prince with a bloody knife, the hand holding it also covered in blood. The front of the Prince’s tunic was bloody as well, and he was very still. Stunned, she dropped the bucket on the floor, and in a small, horrified voice asked, “Did…you kill him? Did you do that?”

Young put the knife back in his belt. He would have to mourn later. Recognizing the very great danger they were in, and being the elite warrior he was, he focused on the next problem at hand. He told her, “The owner of this house seems to have betrayed us. We should move immediately.” He stood up and turned to her, adding, “Wait here. Since I need to check the situation outside first…” But she looked at him with revulsion. He had just killed the young Prince, and what's more, to her he appeared to be indifferent to it. Backing up as he came toward her, she turned around to leave. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his chest, saying in a demanding tone, “Do as I say! Stay behind me so that I can protect you. How many times do I have to tell you for you to remember?!”

Her only thought was to get away from him, someone who would murder a child. She pulled away and cried, “Don’t touch me! Keep those dirty hands off me!” and she turned and ran out of the room.

Desperate, he called after her, “Don’t go outside!” And more softly he cried, “Please!” But she didn’t stop. Grieving and hurt, he watched her go out the door.

She walked around a corner and to the stairs with Young following not far behind. As she turned to go down the stairs, hurrying to avoid him, she tripped and fell, but was caught by…Ki Chul, who had been waiting there with his pledged sister and brother. He smiled at her and said, “It could’ve been dangerous.” Just then Young came around the corner and saw them.

Enraged, Young shouted, “Ki Chul, Prince of the Court from Deokseong.” He leaped over the railing to the ground to confront Ki Chul, who was still holding the High Doctor in his arms. Young said, “Why don’t you put down that person, because I have some business with you,” as he drew his sword and started toward Ki Chul. But Eum-ja leaped between them to protect his pledged brother, attacking with a powerful swing of his sword. Young put up his shield to deflect the blow, but it still drove him back a step or two. Then he attacked in turn, driving Eum-ja back. Eun-soo, meanwhile, struggled in Ki Chul’s arms and he was forced to put her down. They both watched the two warriors battle each other. Eum-ja tried to use his deadly flute but Young swatted it away with his sword and began to summon his own inner power. Although his lightning power was not even close to full strength, trails of energy ran down Young's body, down his sword arm and onto his sword, and when he sliced at Eum-ja, Eum-ja’s sword arm began to shake. Young then threw his shield at Ki Chul, who stopped it in mid-air with his own inner power, moved it away from him, and then exploded it into small pieces.

Ki Chul, thinking that Young had forced the Prince to drink the poison, asked him, “Woodalchi Choi Young, where is His Highness?”

“You disgusting man,” snarled Young, who then shouted, “You know better than I where His Highness is!” He stalked toward Ki Chul. Eum-ja once again came between them, but Young drove him to the side and continued toward Ki Chul with murder in his eyes.

Suddenly the Governor came running with his troops to surround Young, and Young took a roundabout swipe with his sword to keep the troops at a distance. In a loud voice Ki Chul announced, “Here is the criminal who dared to take the abdicated Prince Kyeong Chung and tried to conspire treason against His Majesty! Hurry and make him kneel down!”

The Governor’s troops hesitated to approach the warrior, given what they had just seen him do with a sword. The Governor shouted at them, “What are you doing?! Hurry up and drag the criminal to his knees.”

At the same time Young saw Hwa-su-in, who had come to stand next to Eun-soo, put her ungloved hand meaningfully on the High Doctor’s shoulder. Eun-soo’s eyes grew wide as she felt just a bit of Hwa-su-in’s fiery power. Eun-soo and Young stared at each other for a moment, and Young realized that he needed to give himself up. He dropped his sword and allowed them to push him to his knees. He bowed his head for a moment, feeling defeated, then slowly looked up again at Eun-soo. But she had looked away with tears in her eyes, not wanting him to see her cry and unable to bear seeing him abused and defeated. He didn't see her tears, and when she turned away, he thought she had abandoned him to his fate. Finally, a bitter smile played around his lips as he thought about how cleverly he’d been trapped.


	15. Episode 8, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young is imprisoned for treason and the doctor is taken back to Ki Chul's mansion, where she tries to negotiate with him. A Woodalchi goes to the King with a message from Choi Young.

**Ganghwa Island and Gae Kyeong, Capital City of Goryeo**

They put Young in heavy chains, both on his wrists and ankles, since he was an extraordinary fighter who also had inner power. Soldiers behind and in front of him held their swords drawn while they walked him toward a cart with a metal cage for the journey back to the capital. They paused as they came to Eum-ja, who wanted to check him for more weapons that he might have hidden about him. A soldier found his belt knife, and Young himself put one foot out that held an ankle knife. When they took that, he told Eum-ja, “There’s no more.” Eum-ja believed him, and they continued to the cart.

Meanwhile, Ki Chul found the Prince’s body, laid out with the covers over his chest and his head on a pillow. Removing the covers and opening the front of his tunic, it was clear that the Prince had taken the poison and then been killed. He handed a sword to his master, saying, “Here is Choi Young’s sword.”

The sword rang slightly as Ki Chul took it out of its scabbard, noting, “So this is that legendary sword.”

“The sword that his master in the Red Crescent Moon army gave him.” 

Ki Chul whipped the sword down to point at the dead prince. “This kid drank the poison instead of Choi Young.”

“Choi Young must have forced him to drink it and then killed him.”

“Yes, that would be logical…Any man would do that to save his own life.” But Ki Chul didn’t sound entirely convinced that it had actually happened that way. He put the sword back in the scabbard.

Eum-ja asked, “You don’t think Choi Young forced him?” Ki Chul didn’t respond. Instead, he asked who was guarding the Doctor. He was told that Hwa Su-in was with her.

In the Ganghwa Governor's house Eun-soo paced back and forth in consternation, worried about Young. “This can’t be happening. That’s not how it’s written in history books. Choi Young lives until he gets very old, so he can’t die this young. He can’t!”

Hwa Su-in looked at her skeptically. “Do you really foresee the future? Because you came from heaven?”

“That’s how it’s recorded.”

“I must also be in the records then.” And she started a large flame to demonstrate her special skill. She let it burn momentarily, then extinguished it with a wave of her hand as Eun-soo looked on in stunned silence. She continued, preening like a cat, “How am I described, the skillful woman of fire? Or maybe as a woman who burned the hearts of men?”

Eun-soo avoided commenting, since the other woman wasn’t in any history book she had tead. Instead she continued her own line of thought. “But something is strange. Something is different from the history I’ve learned.” She asked Hwa Su-in, “What will happen to Choi Young?”

“If he’s guilty of treason, he will die, hacked to pieces. He will be tied to a pillar where everyone can see him and stripped. His skin will be flayed, but not all at once. Slowly so that he won’t die quickly. Little by little, so he’ll die in unbearable pain.”

Anxious and appalled, Eun-soo asked, “Won’t there be a trial first? I can testify on his behalf. He might be a…murderer who slays people, but he never plotted treason. I was there and saw it all.”

“Don’t tell me. Ask my senior, my pledged brother. The King may not be able to save him, but my senior can.” As Eun-soo went to leave the room to find Ki Chul, Hwa Su-in continued, “Try to convince him. Because I’ll also be sad if such an awesome man dies.”

“Does your pledged brother have any weakness?”

“Weakness?” She chuckled. “I’d have taken advantage of it already if I knew one. Oh, by the way, don’t ever look weak in front of him. He’s the kind that likes to tread on the weak as if they are bugs.”

Young sat in the metal cage leaning back against the bars. He was lightly dozing, saving his strength and waiting for what would happen once they returned to the capital. The Governor approached his cage, accompanied by two soldiers for protection. “Commander Choi Young… Do not blame me too much,” he said with a condescending smile.

Without lifting his head from resting against the bars, Young replied, “Blame you? I walked into this trap myself.”

The Governor added, “By the way, I haven’t told you yet. The three important things to do in order to be a public servant, paid by the country through the generations.”

“I’m listening.”

“Three things one must do. First, identify the powerful. Second, become his friend. Third, and the most important part. Believe you’re doing the right thing no matter what.”

Young snickered. “What a bothersome thing it is to serve like that for generations. I think it’s better not to do that.”

They both looked up as Ki Chul, his minions and Eun-soo came out to begin the journey home. The departing party stopped to look at Young as he sat in his cage, leaning back against the bars with one knee up and an arm extended over it, looking almost casual. He glanced over at them, too, but stared at Eun-soo. Their eyes locked and she stopped breathing for a moment. Then he looked away as Ki Chul stepped between them and spoke to her, showing her which horse she’d be riding. Then, once Ki Chul was no longer blocking her line of sight, she looked at Young again. She found it hard to tear her eyes away from him, this very handsome, very stubborn man who killed people for a living, but who had also laid his life on the line more than once to protect her. She finally turned away with a heavy heart. Young stared after her as Ki Chul helped the High Doctor mount her horse.

At the royal palace, Ki Chul’s mercenary soldiers, led by his brother, had replaced the Woodalchis as the King’s bodyguards. The Queen walked down a corridor with Lady Choi, viewing the royal guard and Ki Chul’s soldiers, both feeling heartsick and worried about the King’s safety. The Queen especially resented their presence, sure that Ki Chul’s mercenaries were responsible for both of the attacks on her. And she felt angry at the King for making a foolish decision about the Woodalchi, but worried for him all the same. The King was a virtual prisoner in his rooms, having been told by Ki Chul’s brother to give advance notice before going anywhere, a polite way of saying the King shouldn’t leave.

Meanwhile, the Woodalchi Ju-seok had returned to the capital city and was trying to make his way to the King with the Commander’s message. He made his way into the palace compound secretly. Hiding behind a column, he saw that there were no Woodalchi about. Instead, there was a mix of royal guards, dressed in red uniforms, and Ki Chul’s private soldiers who were dressed in white and black uniforms. They all seemed to be on high alert. Suddenly he was accosted by a royal guardsman from behind, shortly joined by several others with their swords out. One of the them asked, “Are you a Woodalchi?”

He angrily replied, “That’s right. What are mere military guards doing to a Woodalchi who protects His Majesty?”

“There’s an arrest order for all Woodalchi. Arrest this guy!” There ensued a struggle where Ju-seok used his superior martial arts to keep them from taking hold of him, and he fled from the scene. Dae-man, who had been watching from a roof, repeatedly used his slingshot to keep the guards from following Ju-seok. Both of them managed to make their way to the royal hospital, where they were hidden by Dr. Jang and Deo-ki.

Ju-seok’s and Dae-man’s paths diverged from there. Deo-ki created a diversion with a smelly cart to occupy the soldiers guarding the Woodalchi compound, allowing Dae-man to go over the roof and inside. The Woodalchi were starved for news and eagerly greeted him. But the news he brought wasn’t good. He told them that Ju-seok was trying to see the King with a message from Choi Young, but the King was surrounded by royal guards and Ki Chul’s men. He had also heard that the Commander had been captured and was being brought to the capital. The Woodalchi wanted to rescue their Commander, but they had no armor or weapons; they’d all been confiscated. They had no choice but to wait.

When Ki Chul’s entourage arrived in the capital, Young was imprisoned in the palace’s dungeon. Extra-heavy irons and chains, attached to the wall, were locked onto his arms and legs. The chains clanked loudly with every move he made. The entrance to his cell had both an inner and an outer set of doors and was guarded at all times. Some sun came into the cell from a skylight, but it was a stark place with only a stone bench and gray stone walls. Young sat down on the floor, leaning against the bench. He looked around his cell, seeing a rat carefully cleaning itself, but nothing else of note. Memories of the young Prince began to stream into his mind, especially his last moments, when the Prince described to Young what Ki Chul had told him, and how he had decided to save Young by drinking the poison himself. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he remembered his last deadly embrace of the Prince, ending his suffering. Then he recalled Eun-soo running away from him, thinking him a murderer. He took out the bottle of pills she had given him. He reached into the bottle and pulled out a withered yellow flower, the one she had offered to him. When she wasn’t looking, he had picked it up and saved the small gift. It brought back more memories as well as a faint scent. He remembered her holding it out to him and then placing it behind his ear, teasing him. He also recalled the time she had told him to lean his head on her shoulders to rest, and her comment that he smelled of blood. Lastly, he saw in his mind’s eye her being helped onto her horse, then taken away again by the despised Ki Chul. The only way he knew how to silence these painful memories for a time was to sleep, which he knew very well how to do; he'd been doing that for the past seven years. He laid himself out on the floor and slept the rest of the day, through the night and into the next day

The High Doctor had been taken back to Ki Chul’s mansion and locked in the same room as she had been in before leaving for Gangwha Island. She was also remembering. She again felt Young’s eyes gazing at her from his cage, stirring something deep inside her. She was so consumed with thinking and worrying about him that, when the door to her room was opened, she briefly saw him entering as he had when he had come to Ki Chul’s mansion to rescue her. But no, it was Eum-ja, coming to take her to Ki Chul. As she walked with Eum-ja, she recalled how Young had protected her in Ki Chul’s house, from blocking Hwa Su-in with his shield, to drinking her wine first to see if it was poisoned. Then she recalled how he had pulled her to him after the Prince died, telling her to stay close to him so he could protect her. But no one would be protecting her now.

As Eun-soo entered the room where Ki Chul awaited her, she passed Hwa Su-in, who smiled and winked at her. She remembered her advice about never looking weak in front of him. She took a deep breath and strode in with head held high. She wasn’t entirely successful at appearing tough; she kicked at the chair provided her but almost tripped. Then she put her foot up on the chair and leaned her elbow on her thigh, although her elbow slipped off at first. But she stared at Ki Chul defiantly. Yang-sa looked puzzled, but his master only smiled and said, “I thought you’d be hungry, so I had this meal prepared.”

She haughtily replied, "“How strange. You forgot how you treated me the last time, calling me this bitch and that bitch, and said that you would cut my head off and hang it? You were so bullshitting! And you prepare a meal for me? Does it have poison?”

But Ki Chul responded most pleasantly, “If I thought to kill you, it wouldn’t be poison. You are a heavenly healer. What good would it do me to poison you? Why don’t you have a seat?”

Yang-sa angrily interjected, “How can this woman be so daring? Even if you’re so out of your mind…”

Ki Chul told him to stop, and then said to the Doctor, “I have a request to make.”

“Oh, a request. So now you want to negotiate with me? Well, I am a good negotiator.” She sat down and continued, “What’s the deal? I also have a request. Show me your card first. Come on. Your card.”

Ki Chul remained outwardly calm but beneath the table he curled his hands into fists on his lap. No one _ever_ dared to talk to him in this manner. He forced himself to smile and then nodded to Yang-sa, who brought a tray over and set it down in front of her. On the tray were her surgical tools and to one side, a small wooden box.

She told him, “Those are mine. Why are they here? You stole them?” Then Yang-sa opened the box. Curious, she stood up and bent over the box to look at the contents. She removed a few of items for closer examination. They were surgical tools very similar to hers, but these were covered in rust.

Ki Chul asked, “Do you recognize them?”

“Where did you get these?” As she examined the tools, she muttered to herself, “How can these be here? These aren’t mine.” She turned one over and saw the stamped impression, “ _Made in Korea_.” Shocked, she looked up at Ki Chul. “What’s this? What are these?!”

Ki Chul told her that the rusty tools had belonged to Hwata, and that he had two more relics from Hwata as well. She asked him to show them to her, but he declined for the time being. Instead, he told her about his bet with the King, that he had to have her heart within seven days.

Ridiculous, she thought, and told him, “I own my own heart.” She leaned forward. “You said you want to know what these are, and that you have two more. And you want to know what those are, too.”

“Are you saying you can explain?”

“If those other two came with these, of course I know. They’re from my world. If you want to know more, then save Choi Young.”

But Ki Chul countered, “You’re wrong about the item to make a deal for. Once you become mine, you will tell me what those objects are. So the deal should be like this. Give your heart to me and become one of my people. Then I will save Choi Young’s life.” He smiled at her like a cat toying with a mouse.

While the High Doctor and Ki Chul verbally sparred with each other, Ju-seok was at the palace, disguised as a medical assistant. With his head down like a shy servant, he carried a tray with medicine on it, walking behind Dr. Jang and in front of a real medical assistant. They were headed toward the King’s quarters, but Ki Won, Ki Chul's brother, stopped them, asking why they were there.

Dr. Jang replied, “The King has to take his medicine.”

“Medicine? I wasn’t informed.” Suspicious of the doctor and his entourage, Ki Won glanced at the tray and at Ju-seok, but Dr. Jang stepped in front of him, blocking his view of Ju-seok.

Dr. Jang scolded the brother, “You call yourselves protectors of the King and you don’t even know when he has to take his medicine?” The brother looked discomfited. Dr. Jang turned to his real assistant and said, “They’re newcomers, so they know nothing and don’t even know what to ask us about the King. Send them a report of the King’s medical routine.” Then he patted the brother on the shoulder and went past him to the King’s quarters. Ki Won was annoyed but allowed them to pass. Entering the King’s quarters, and while the door was still ajar, Dr. Jang loudly proclaimed, “Your Highness, your medicine is ready.” He looked at the King and then looked meaningfully at the door.

The King got the message, replying, “Oh, the medicine. Bring it here.” At this, the medical assistant closed the door, giving them more privacy.

As soon as the door closed, Ju-seok fell to his knees, saying, “Your Majesty.” The King asked who he was, and he explained that he was a Woodalchi who’d been sent to the Commander.

The King confirmed, “So you were the one. The one that secretly communicated with the Commander on the Vice-Commander’s order.”

He nodded. “I deserve death, My King.” The King asked him if he’d seen the Commander and when Ju-seok said yes, he asked what the Commander was doing when he found him.

“He was hiding in the mountain with the doctor and My King’s nephew. He said it was a trap.”

The King stood. “I have heard the royal forces captured him.”

“That must be after I saw him. I tried to come earlier, but the royal forces…”

Doubting him, the King responded, “So, he asked you to do this if he gets caught? To come to me when his plot fails? And tell me that he was trapped?”

“No, My King. He didn’t say that.”

As they talked, the King was getting angrier. “So the weak and prideless King will stand by him again and meet him with joy?”

Ju-seok bent his head to the floor before the King and pleaded, “Your Highness, please.”

The King took a sword from a stand and threw it on the ground near Ju-seok. “You have disobeyed me and kept in touch with a traitor. You have said it yourself, that you deserve death. Die, then.”

The King turned his back on Ju-seok. Ju-seok raised his head from the ground and then rose to his feet, picking up the sword. He drew it from its scabbard and held the sharp edge to the side of his neck with both hands. “My Commander has sent a message to the King. I will take my life once I give you that message.”

The King turned around, curious to hear what Choi Young had said. Ju-seok continued, “These were the words of my Commander: ‘I, Woodalchi Choi Young, have not yet completed my King’s mission.’ That is all he said.” He took a big breath. “I wish My King health and peace. May you be a wise and good King for Goryeo.”

Not entirely convinced of Choi Young's loyalty but still struck by his message, the King made a decision. As Ju-seok drew the sword back to slice his own throat, the King looked meaningfully at Dr. Jang, who quickly stepped forward and knocked the sword out of Ju-seok’s grasp with his fan. Ju-seok gasped, hardly believing he was still alive. He looked up at the King, who told him, “I still have a job for you.”


	16. Episode 8, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Against his advisors' wishes, the King decides to interrogate Choi Young himself. The doctor tries to get Ki Chul drunk so she can escape. Choi Young makes a decision about living.

**Royal Palace & Ki Chul’s Mansion, Gae Kyeong**

Ki Won came down to the dungeon to check on Young, which he did on a regular basis. When he looked in, he saw Young sleeping on the floor, the same as he’d been doing the last several times he had been there. The guard told him that he had been sleeping for a day without waking up, and that he hadn’t even eaten or relieved himself.

But Young wasn’t just sleeping. He was dreaming, standing on the frozen lake again with his father. His father asked him, “You haven’t found it yet?”

This time his son replied, a bit puzzled, “What was…I looking for?” Then he took a step toward his father and fell through the ice into the lake. He was wearing his heavy dress armor, so he sank like a stone. He struggled on and on, unable to breathe, trying unsuccessfully to remove his armor and looking for a way out. Then suddenly he was on all fours, coughing. He looked at himself and over at the lake, not understanding how he had gotten back to dry land. His armor wasn’t even wet. His father was there too, asking him what he was doing. Confused, he asked, “When did the ice melt?”

His father looked equally puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

Standing up and looking around him in surprise, his son replied, “This lake was frozen.”

But his father told him that the lake had never been frozen and that he should look around him to see that this place had been like this for a long time. And when Young did so, he saw that the lake waters reflected the blue sky above them, everything was growing, lush and ripe, and a chorus of birds were chirping. He was surrounded by the vibrancy of life.

Young woke up. Something had changed for him over the course of their trip to Ganghwa Island. Right then he wasn’t sure why or what it meant, but he felt very alive. He was still grieving for the prince; in fact, the feelings were more intense. He was still depressed and worried about the King and Eun-soo, and also unsure what would happen to him. Nevertheless, a seed of new life had been planted in him and it was beginning to grow. He had no desire to go back to sleep.

Meanwhile, the King was slowly walking down the main palace corridor to a meeting requested by his advisors. They were to decide how to deal with Young. The King was pondering over the Commander’s message, that he hadn’t yet completed his King’s mission. Then he recalled the Commander asking to be relieved of service and the mission he’d given him before he’d consider releasing him. Suddenly, the King realized that the Commander’s message referred to that mission, the one he’d given him. He grabbed Do-chi and said, “He was not following the former king’s orders, he was following _my_ orders!” He turned and began walking much more quickly to the court, saying to himself, “Yes, that’s right, that’s how it was.” He smiled more and more broadly as he walked.

The King strode into the throne room and onto the dais while his advisors took their places. Il-shin came to stand in front of the King. “Your Highness, the nobles have consulted each other.”

Impatient, the King said, “Be brief, get to the point.”

“It is about the traitor, Choi Young. All traitors must be punished, as stern as the thunder and as quickly as the lightning. Before the traitors can even dare to escape. So everyone will see...”

The King closed his eyes with impatience while Il-shin spoke, knowing how much Il-shin’s feelings were motivated by his personal animosity toward the Commander. He interrupted Il-shin, “Let’s do it. As stern as the thunder and as quick as the lightning. I’ll interrogate him myself.”

This sent Il-shin and other advisors into consternation. “Interrogate? Your Highness, that is…”

“Why? Am I too incompetent to interrogate a sinner?”

“Your Highness, how can you say this?” Il-shin seemed on the verge of tears. He was joined by advisor Ja-won, who also expressed reservations about the King interrogating Choi Young. He said that the advisors were already prepared to interrogate the prisoner and the King should only give orders.

Annoyed, the King shouted, “I _am_ giving an order, right now! I will interrogate Choi Young myself.” The King stepped off the dais and began walking to the door, inviting Il-shin to show him the way to the dungeon. Then Ja-won, determined to stop him, stepped in front of the King, bowing while saying “Your Highness!”

The King had had enough. “Are you trying to stop your King in front of all the nobles?”

Ja-won quickly stepped to the side, humbly saying, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” and bowed again.

The King walked on, asking Il-shin to show him the way to the dungeon. His advisors were still objecting when they arrived at Young’s prison cell, but the King ignored them. Young, sitting on the floor, heard the commotion and looked up. The King said, “Open the doors.”

But the advisors held onto the handles of the two doors, one on either side, protesting, “No, My King. You must not face that brutal man!”

The King replied that the prisoner was in chains. The King turned to Ki Won and asked, “Have you used such weak chains that my counselors need to be worried?”

“Oh no. We have been given special orders. Choi Young uses inner powers so a normal chain isn’t enough. We used a specially-made steel chain.” He showed the King a sample of those chains and handed one to him, assuring him that the chains had been made by a first-class blacksmith and were 12 times stronger than common chains. Whereupon the King asked him to open the doors. Ki Won had never come close to matching his older sibling's keen mind. So he didn't immediately realize he was foiling the advisors’ strategy of keeping the King away from Choi Young as he opened the doors.

As soon as the King had gone inside the first set of doors, he turned, pulled them shut and locked them from the inside, keeping the advisors and guards outside. When his advisors strenuously protested, the King shouted, “Silence! I will interrogate the sinner. So be quiet.” The King unlocked the second set of doors and entered Young’s cell.

Young stood up when the King came through the door, then knelt gracefully and humbly at the King’s feet with his head bowed, chains clanking. Ki Won and the advisors on the other side of the door jostled for position to try to hear the coming conversation. The King looked at his Commander for a moment before speaking. “You have not completed my mission?”

Keeping his head bowed, a subdued Young spoke quietly, “I have not, My King.”

“Meaning you are still carrying it out?”

Again, very subdued with his head bowed, he answered, “Yes, My King.”

The King told him that there was no need for him to complete the original mission. He had already learned who had killed the advisors, and he also knew why he needed to fight that person.

Surprised, Young looked up, not sure he believed him. “Do you?”

“I do. I know why I must fight. So would you teach me _how_ to fight?”

Young give an ironic chuckle. “I am in chains accused as a traitor.”

“Are you thinking of dying as a traitor? Is that truly what you want? Are you saying that everything is over?”

Young bowed his head, silent, leaving himself entirely at the mercy of the King. The King came close to him and knelt down in front of him. “Teach me how to fight so I can save you.” Then, like a close friend, he reached a hand out, sliding it over the irons on Young’s wrist to firmly grasp his forearm. He explained, “I gave the Doctor to Ki Chul because I believed that was the only way to keep her safe. She will be in danger if she stays with me, because I am weak. I had no other choice.”

Young raised his head and looked at the King. “That person…is she safe in that house?”

The King admitted, “I have no way to know that.” Soon afterward, the King left. He told the advisors that he would hold court the next day and announce his decision.

Ja-won had been unable to hear the conversation between the King and his Commander, so he would only be able to tell Ki Chul that the King had met with Choi Young. Hurrying to Ki Chul’s mansion, he wasn’t allowed to talk to him immediately; his master was with the High Doctor and had left orders not to be disturbed.

Ki Chul and Eun-soo had come to an understanding of sorts, where they would get to know each other before she decided whether to give him her heart. For her, it was simply a way to buy time, hoping to be rescued or to escape in the meantime. For him, he was willing to cater to her whims for a few days, as getting to know her would help him learn more about how to bend her to his will. That afternoon Eun-soo was making mojito cocktails for Hwa Su-in and Ki Chul, or at least as close a version as she could manage. She hoped to get Ki Chul drunk so she could escape. But he was reluctant to drink the cocktail, saying that he wanted her heart, not a drink. But she told him that a person’s heart wasn’t like a luxury bag, so you can’t buy it with money, and you can’t force it. She poured ingredients into a goblet and put a large leaf over it while she rapidly moved it in small circle, mixing the ingredients. When he still showed reluctance to drink it, she pouted, “Didn’t you say you wanted my heart? And you won’t accept my drink?”

With an annoyed grimace, he picked it up and drank it down. Then she began making another. He grabbed her wrist as she started to pick up his goblet to refill it. “Whether it is the King or a heavenly healer, I do not tolerate anyone playing with me. I have never allowed such a thing.”

She replied with a smile, “Same here. I can’t give my heart to anyone as if it was a game. You want my heart? Then put in more effort.”

“And drinking is putting in more effort?”

“A person who is not smart or skilled makes a person say the same thing twice. I’ll explain it one last time. You want my heart? Then you have to drink with me at least once a week. Communication blooms over the glasses of alcohol shared. Don’t you know that?” He looked irritated and she continued to smile at him. She looked down at his hand still holding her wrist, telling him with wry humor, “Grabbing a wrist happens later, much later.” Ki Chul gave a short laugh and let go. They continued drinking and Eun-soo thought her plan was going well. But the alcohol was affecting her as much or more as it was affecting him.

After the King’s visit, Young’s new desire to live now drove him to take action. When the two guards patrolling his cell looked inside to check on him, they were startled to see him slumped over. They saw blood dripping from one of his hands into a puddle of blood on the floor. The guards knew they would be put to death if he died. Concerned, they reluctantly entered his cell to see if he had tried to kill himself. Suicide wasn’t unusual among those accused of treason, given the horrendous nature of their execution. As they approached, he didn’t move. One said to the other, “We can’t let him die. Go and check.” The guard cautiously approached Young and made the fatal mistake of putting his hand on his shoulder. Young immediately arose and, as he did so, chopped into the man’s throat with his other hand. The second guard rushed him, and the tall Commander grabbed his arm, twirling him around, put his other arm around the man’s head and twisted, breaking his neck. Then he took the keys from one of the men, unlocked his irons and let himself out. He left behind the two dead guards and the small, drained body of the rat whose blood he had used to lure them.

Later that same day, Ki Chul continued to court Eun-soo. She had asked to see his garden, so he took her there, accompanied by Eum-ja and several guards. His grounds were so extensive that it was easier to ride from the mansion to the large garden. She looked at the retinue following them and told him, “This isn’t what I planned.”

“You said if I want your heart…”

She interrupted, a little drunk from the mojitos she had made, “We have to talk with each other, but not with all these guys following us.” He dismissed the other men, even Eum-ja, and they continued walking into the massive garden. It had a small lake with a waterfall on one side and a gazebo on the other. A river flowed beyond it with tall grasses, flowers and trees going back as far as she could see. As they walked, their conversation turned to a discussion of government. He was amazed when she told him that, in her world, there were no kings.

“Then who rules the people?”

“The president.” She went on to tell him about the election process in modern Korea, how candidates spoke to the people about what who they were and what they would do if elected. Then the people decided who would be president. When she finished, Ki Chul laughed out loud, greatly amused.

“What’s so funny? Are you drunk?” Eun-soo slurred her words a little, being far more drunk than he was.

Chuckling, he replied to her, “Hundreds of people claiming they are the ones to be the king. That is very funny.”

Suddenly her eyes were caught by bunch of yellow mums, growing to one side of the small bridge. She rose to her feet and walked over to them. They reminded her of Choi Young.

Watching her, Ki Chul asked, “Do you like those flowers?”

“I just…know those flowers,” she replied, still staring intently at them while remembering her small gift to Choi Young. Neither she nor Ki Chul knew that at that moment they were being watched. The intruder stood some ways away, hidden by the abundant foliage in the garden. It was the first thing Young did after breaking out of his prison cell. He wanted to verify that she was safe. His heart beat a little faster just to see her. He was relieved to see her out and about, apparently unharmed, but he knew that could change in an instant with Ki Chul.

Ki Chul picked some of the mums and sniffed at them. While he was doing so, Ja-won approached him; he had finally been allowed into the garden. As he began his report, Eun-soo saw her chance to sneak away. At first she walked slowly but then fled into the tall grasses and flowers behind the lake. Ki Chul saw her leave but wasn’t concerned; his men would catch her. He was more concerned about the King going to see Choi Young.

Once Eun-soo was deep in the garden, she wasn’t sure in which direction to go. She decided to follow the riverbank and ran along it. She began climbing up as the bank grew steeper and narrower. She kept looking back to see if she was being pursued, and eventually tripped on a tree root. Losing her footing, she began sliding down the steep bank toward the river below. But before she fell very far, strong arms went around her waist from behind her and pulled her up and back to the bank. In her inebriated state she thought Ki Chul or one of his men had caught her and told him to let her go. Trying to get loose, she cried, “I was just testing you to see how far I could go. I’m sorry.” The arms around her disappeared and she fell forward a few steps before turning around to see who had caught her. But there was no one there; whoever it was had disappeared. As she thought about it, something had felt familiar about the man who had caught her. Still a little muzzy from the alcohol she'd drunk, she wasn’t sure what it was. Could it have been…? She felt a little thrill go through her at the idea. But it was impossible. He was in prison.

She left the riverbank, walking back into the grasses and flowers, wondering who it was and where he had gone, half looking for the Woodalchi Commander. Ki Chul found her there and saw her looking around. He asked, “What is it that you’re searching for?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Suspicious, he asked, “Was anyone here?” She didn’t answer him, only making him more suspicious.

They rode on horseback directly back to his mansion. When they arrived, his minions ran out to give him the news that Choi Young had escaped. He looked back at Eun-soo, who had overheard the news and was valiantly trying to keep a neutral expression her face. Inwardly, she felt elated; it must have been Young who caught her! But then she thought, “ _He’s still putting himself at risk by protecting me.”_

In a low voice Ki Chul told Yang-sa to gather as many men as he could. He told him, “If I were him, I’d go for my men. Go to the Woodalchi barracks!” Shortly thereafter, Ki Chul’s brother led a group of men to those barracks, throwing open the doors. He announced to the waiting Woodalchi that the barracks would be searched and that they were not to move during the search.

Sometime before then, Dr. Jang and an assistant began walking through the palace wearing kerchiefs over their faces. Each of them carried a small brazier that emitted smoke. As they walked by the guards, they announced that they were burning some herbs and frankincense. But as they passed, the guards began to collapse. In addition to frankincense, the braziers contained a powerful substance that induced unconsciousness. Once the guards were unconscious and enough of the smoke had cleared, there came a tall figure, striding rapidly in a dark cloak with a hood that hid his face. He was accompanied by Dae-man and was headed for the King’s quarters. Ju-seok opened the doors for them, saying, “Commander.”

Terse as usual, Young told him only, “Stand outside.”

“Yes, Commander,” and Ju-seok left to guard the doors.

Coming before the King, he lifted the hood from his head and said, “Woodalchi Choi Young has come to see Your Majesty.” He bowed his head to the King, who had stood up from his chair on the raised platform where his desk was located.

The King was overjoyed to see him. Laughing with relief and stepping down to greet his guest, he said, “Well, what’s this! A man accused of treason can even enter my room!”

Young smiled at him, saying, “Forgive my impudence.” He added more seriously, “But I have come to ask and answer …” The King nodded, filled with new hope and energy at seeing his Woodalchi Commander in front of him.

The King and Young sat down at the King’s table. Young began, “I dare to ask. My King said he knows why he must fight. Why must you fight?”

“To be a King.”

“You already are a King.”

“Choi Young, not even you regard me as a King. What else can I say?” Young looked down for a moment, mildly rebuked. Then he looked up again.

“My King asked me to teach him how to fight, and this is my answer: a king does not fight.”

“Meaning…?”

“A king only **_has_**. Some have one or two, others have thousands, even tens of thousands. First _, **have me**. **I will do the fighting**_.” Young had served several kings. But for the first time he had chosen on his own to serve one.

Sometime later, Ki Chul rode up to the Woodalchi barracks to see if Choi Young had been apprehended. His brother told him his men had completed quite a thorough search with no results. Upon hearing that, Ki Chul said, “He went to the King. Damn it!” He turned and galloped toward the palace with his men, sure that Choi Young and the King were plotting together. He rushed into the palace, finding many of his mercenaries lying on the floor, unconscious. Eum-ja cleared their way with his long flute, using it as a stave. They pushed the King’s attendants guarding his door aside, and Ki Chul entered. The King, writing at his desk, looked up. Ki Chul gave a slight bow and looked around.

The King said to him, “What took you so long? I was told the men guarding me are your men, is that true? I have tested them. And look at them; they are not good enough. Change them.” The King returned to his writing.

Ki Chul was furious but held his temper, saying, “I will take care of it.” Then he added, “By any chance, was it Choi Young who did that to my men?”

The King had honed his poker face during his years as a captive in Yuan. He looked up, seemingly puzzled. “Choi Young? Isn’t he in prison? Isn’t your younger brother guarding him? Don’t tell me something happened there.”

Ki Chul huffed in disbelief and stared at the King, but King stared right back at him with a mildly inquiring expression.

Ki Chul next went to the dungeon, to Choi Young’s cell. He pulled open the first set of doors. There was Young, sitting in the cell unchained, waiting for him.

“Woodalchi Choi Young.”

Young looked up and ignoring his title, said, “Ki Chul.”

Ki Chul scolded him, “You shouldn’t have. You are smart enough to know that I’ve set all this up because I care for you, to make you my man.”

Young’s fury at Ki Chul had turned into a cold, determined anger. He spoke in a deathly quiet voice. “Set all this up? Making me a traitor and locking my men in their barracks? And…poisoning King Kyeong Chung?”

Ki Chul looked mildly regretful. “I had to know which king you liked better. Oh right, I have to ask you, did you make Kyeong Chung drink that poison for you? I was planning to release you tomorrow, saying it was a false charge…” As the other man spoke, Young closed his eyes to contain his anger at how casually the other man regarded the death of the young Prince.

Ki Chul continued, “…And let you be the leader of my men by next month. You should have waited more patiently. Tsk. Why did you make a reckless move and go to meet the Doctor and the young King?” He sighed, “You have given me a headache. It’s more complicated now.” At Young’s continued silence, he added, “The High Doctor pleaded to bring you out quickly.” Young looked up at that news but didn’t change his expression. Ki Chul continued, “So let’s end this game.”

Ki Chul turned to leave, but Young called to him, “ Nari [Lord].” The Commander stood up, walked over to the door and spoke through the bars, starting in that same quiet voice. “People usually say, ‘I’m living.’ But honestly that isn’t so. Actually, we are dying, one day after another, and then another, until we actually die. So I was planning to die as decently and quietly as possible. But you kept provoking me, who was good and obedient…” His voice rose a little as he continued, “…To wake up from my sleep, to get up! To try living.” Young stared at him with that cold anger in his eyes, smiling slightly. Although Ki Chul gave a brief chuckle at the implied threat, he still felt a slight chill in his bones before he turned and left.

Late that night and into the early morning, the King was busy. First, he stamped a few decrees with his royal seal, then he went to see the Queen. Lady Choi was brushing the Queen’s long hair when the King was announced. The Queen was taken by surprise; the King had never come to her chambers before. She bowed to him. He spoke to her sincerely, “I know it is very late. But I have a request to make. I have decided to be more courageous. Because there is a person I want to have. But to have him, I must show him my courage. I need your help to show courage. Will you help me?” She didn’t respond immediately, so the King continued, “You might hate me and I might seem pathetic. But I’m thinking now to try that so-called frontal breakthrough, too. Will you help me?” He gestured to a box that his attendant held. Lady Choi opened it to find an elaborate clothing ensemble.

The next day, the King’s advisors assembled, and Ki Chul arrived with the High Doctor, who was dressed in a beautiful cream-colored gown and robe with flowers embroidered around the neckline. The advisors all bowed to them as he led her into the throne room. They sat at the front, on the main aisle and just below the King’s dais. A little later the King entered and walked down the main aisle with his attendants. One of them carried a stack of black cloth with gold trim in front of him. As he passed by the High Doctor and Ki Chul, the King noted their presence without smiling, then continued onto the raised dais. He turned and told everyone to sit down.

The King began, “I shall give you some orders here and now. Listen and look carefully, and then go back to the people you’re in charge of and tell them what you saw and heard. First…” His attendants came up onto the dais and, as the King stood there, began removing his outer clothes. They removed the red sash and then the golden robe that the Yuan emperor had given him. They also removed the next layer, a white robe, beautifully embroidered in the Yuan style. At that point the King stood there in his silk underclothes, and his advisors were shocked. Then his attendants started dressing him in different clothes. They tied a bright red skirt around his waist and added a long black robe trimmed in gold, with a large circle on the chest containing a golden dragon. Around his waist they placed a wide belt from which hung a long black rectangular cloth with royal symbols on it. Last, they placed a tall black hat on his head.

Then the Queen entered from a side door. She was wearing a long red gown overlaid with a blue robe trimmed in red and gold. There was so much silver embroidery on it that It shimmered in the light. Il-shin smiled broadly and nodded his approval. He stood and announced to the assembly, “Archivist, write this down. The King and Queen of Goryeo have taken off Yuan’s garments and put on Goryeo’s garments. The King has put on the golden dragon gown and the Goryeo royal crown.” The King had begun his frontal breakthrough.

Ja-won, Ki Chul’s man, stood, intending to object to the outfits as they might offend Yuan if word got back to them. But the King stopped him, shouting, “I have not finished speaking!” Ja-won sat back down. The King told the assembly, “Stay silent! Second, as I’ve spent 10 years away from my country, Goryeo, I had some men secretly investigate the state of affairs for me. I shall now reward the men who’ve successfully completed my bidding. Bring them in!”

Then, striding down the wide corridor and into the throne room came the Woodalchi, led by Choi Young.


	17. Episode 9, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King frees Choi Young and grants the Woodalchi a special privilege. Choi Young and his aunt, Court Lady Choi, help the King plan how to gain more power, money and allies. Ki Chul quizzes the doctor on the future of Goryeo, and Choi Young visits Ki Chul's house.

**Royal Palace and Ki Chul's House in Gae Kyeong**

Entering the throne room, Choi Young and the rest of the Woodalchi knelt before the King. Then Young rose and stepped forward, briefly glancing at Eun-soo. Returning his gaze to the King, he said, “I, Woodalchi Choi Young and my men are at your service, My King.” Then he knelt again. He was almost directly across from the High Doctor, and she had nearly gasped with relief to see him alive and seemingly well. Her heart fluttered and she couldn’t take her eyes off of the handsome warrior, kneeling with his head bowed.

The King said to hm, “Your efforts have been great.”

Almost immediately Ja-won hurried into the center aisle and knelt, protesting, “Your Majesty the King, this man turned against Your Majesty and plotted treason. And he killed the Late King. He deserves more than immediate death by dismemberment. How could he dare to, in this royal palace…”

But the King interrupted him, asking, “Which is it?” Everyone moved their eyes from Ja-won to the King, who continued, “Are you saying Commander Choi Young joined hands with the Late King and turned against me? Or are you saying he killed the Late King who tried to turn against me?”

Ja-won had no answer. He bowed his head to the floor, simply saying, “Your Majesty.”

The King continued speaking to Ja-won, “Everything the Woodalchi Commander has said and done were under my direct orders. So are you saying I committed treason against myself?” Then he turned to the rest of the court and continued, “Under my command he risked disgrace and imprisonment in order to root out those designing to revolt.” The King turned to look at Ki Chul. “The one who exposed the mastermind of all the wicked schemes.” Ki Chul looked increasingly unhappy as the King spoke.

Then the King addressed Young again. “Commander Choi Young of Straight-Five ranking, I appoint you to the ranking of Middle-Four [Army General]. And I give Woodalchi among other things, a special right. Hereafter, the Woodalchi, with the exception of me, cannot be interfered by anyone, nor disarmed, nor ordered detained or dispersed, nor interfered with in any way. Such is my order, the King of Goryeo.”

The Woodalchi all shouted together with big grins on their faces, “We receive your order,” and bowed their heads. The King and Young looked at each other and a slight smile appeared on both their faces. Each of their doubts about the other were gone. Instead they shared a mutual commitment and goal to wrest control of Goryeo from Yuan and Ki Chul.

That night a veiled woman came to Ki Chul’s door. She was one of the Queen’s guards but spied for the Prince of the Court. She told their small group about the King having come to the Queen’s quarters the night before, and that he had asked her to wear the Goryeo ceremonial costume to court the next day. They were surprised to hear that a Yuan princess would agree to wear a Goryeo costume, but she confirmed that the Queen had done so.

Ki Chul asked, “Did you say it was dawn when the King’s order came out?”

“That is what I heard. The order was dispatched at the first light.”

What had happened was that Do-chi had brought the King’s order to the dungeon and read it to Young in his cell. It freed him from prison, freed the Woodalchi from their barracks, allowed them to rearm themselves, and summoned all of them to court the next day. The first thing Young did after leaving the dungeon was to go to the barracks. His men were overjoyed to see him and quickly embraced him. It was one of the few times he ever allowed such a demonstration of affection, but he was just as glad to see them.

After hearing the woman’s story, Ki Chul thought about the chain of events that had occurred. “The time Choi Young escaped prison to meet the King was yesterday afternoon. Over just one night, all these things were carried out? Over one night, he came up with a secret plan, he shed the Yuan gown, and summoned the Woodalchi. He had that courage? That young King?!” He chuckled ruefully and pounded the table, acknowledging that the King had outplayed him, at least in this instance.

Evidently the Yuan representatives in Goryeo had already heard as well. Ki Chul was informed that Yuan representatives from Jungdong fortress were there to see him. Yang-sa was nervous about how his master would explain what had happened. But Ki Chul said that the King’s power only consisted of 100 Woodalchi members and Choi Young. All the nobles were Ki Chul’s people. The armies that protected the capital city and the palace were all controlled by him as well. And he still had the Doctor from heaven in his house. He told Yang-sa to have the Yuan visitors wait. Yang-sa wasn’t sure how he’d manage that, given the demanding nature of Yuan officials, but Ki Chul was adamant.

Meanwhile, the Woodalchi, finally able to go outside, were washing, sparring, wrestling and generally having a good time in the courtyard behind the barracks. In his quarters, their _Daejang_ [General] was adopting a new look for himself. Gone was the ill-groomed hair hanging here and there. He decided to look more like the high-level officer he was. It was also a subtle acknowledgement of feeling more present in his life. He tied his hair tightly back at the crown of his head in a short tail and wore a black headband to help keep it there. Some hair stayed on the back of his neck, and some hair fell over the headband down one side of his head and on his forehead, but it was a much cleaner look than before. His gray leather armor was a good fit with the new look. The upper part of it had flared shoulders and a raised collar that protected his neck as well as his upper chest and back. On both the front and the back were ornately carved _kirin_ , hooved dragon-like creatures that were said to punish the wicked. The Woodalchi wore kirin on their armor as a symbol of both their right and duty to protect the King from evildoers. 

As Young finished dressing, he fondly remembered being with the young Prince and Eun-soo, laughing with them at her off-key song. But along with that warm memory came others, first and foremost, the Prince’s death. He would never be entirely free of that tragedy and what he had had to do to end the prince’s suffering. There was also Eun-soo’s look of repulsion and subsequent flight from him, as well his own capture and imprisonment. His cold anger at Ki Chul and his determination to protect the Doctor and keep his vow to her had only grown during his ordeal. Lastly, he had just dedicated his service to the King. He was going into battle, whatever form that battle took.

He left his quarters and went down to the courtyard with his men. He picked up a sword, checked it by removing it from its scabbard and replaced it. He told Choon-sik that he was going to see the King. He announced to all the Woodalchi that they were returning to their positions, and to get ready. Then he left for the palace.

Lady Choi and the King’s primary attendant, Do-chi, also attended the meeting with the King. Young told the King, “Before we begin, a cleaning is needed inside the palace.” He meant getting rid of the spies and informants.

Lady Choi added, “To say it more precisely, we need to get rid of the rats around Your Majesty. Starting from the one closest to Your Majesty’s side, we need to tidy up.” She was referring to Il-shin. The King felt some loyalty to him, since he had been with him for the 10 years in Yuan. But Lady Choi told him that Il-shin not only had informants in the palace, but was buying off the palace guards, working on bringing them under his control. It was nothing compared to Ki Chul’s vast private army, but still worrisome. Young asked where Il-shin was getting the money for these payments, and Lady Choi told him that’s why some people called him an ignorant warrior. His aunt had always known how to put him in his place. The tough General looked very young for a moment, a little abashed, taking her rebuke silently. She went on to explain that the first thing Il-shin had done after they arrived was to seize the key to the palace warehouse.

The King asked her, “How is it that you know so much?”

Young answered, “There’s a saying, ‘Lady Choi inside the palace and Suribang outside the palace.’”

“Suribang?”

“They are a group necessary to Your Majesty. Soon, I will bring them.”

Lady Choi asked her nephew, “Will they come?”

In all seriousness he replied, “Yes, even if I have to beat them.”

The King was sitting in front of a game board with painted and lettered disks on it. At the beginning of their meeting, Young had cleared the playing disks off the board. Now he began placing some disks there again as he listed the steps in their strategy to strengthen the King. “First we need information.” He placed one disk on the board. “Then we seek the appropriate people.” Another disk went back on the board. And in order to protect those people, we need military power.” He placed three disks spaced across the board. “And for that, we need money.” Two more disks went on the board.

Lady Choi told the King that Ki Chul held the purse-strings of Goryeo.

Smiling, the King asked, “Would he just give it to us if we go and ask for it?”

Young replied, “He will not, but we are too weak in power to snatch it from him.”

But the King had another priority to add to the mix. “First, I’d like to bring the High Doctor back. In order to save my honor in front of the Queen. And in front of you as well, General.”

“Did you say you made a wager?”

“Yes. The one who wins the High Doctor’s heart first within seven days keeps her.”

Young told him, “Then first I will see to whom she’s given her heart.” There were many questions in his mind. She had appeared to be all right if a bit drunk when he’d rescued her in Ki Chul’s garden. But he didn’t have any illusions about her safety while in the clutches of Ki Chul; sooner or later she would be in grave danger.

After the meeting with the King, Lady Choi and her nephew left the King’s chambers together. He saw her looking at him askance and asked, “What is it?” Taking him by surprise, Lady Choi grabbed his arm and pushed him onto some nearby steps. She was much stronger than she looked. He turned back to her, adjusting his armor. “Wha…?!”

She told him, “Don’t even dream of it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You said it yourself. All news within the palace is in my grasp. I’m talking about the one who went weeping to you with her legs naked in broad daylight; I’ve heard about it from many sources already.” Young huffed dismissively. She continued, “The High Doctor is not someone you can dare to cherish.”

He smiled defiantly and before he could stop himself, blurted out, “Why not?”

“You really don’t know? Ki Chul. It’s because she’s the woman he wants.”

“So?”

“A woman like her…you keep her in your heart?”

Avoiding answering, he looked away saying, “Don’t worry about me.”

“I not worried about _you!_ It’s the High Doctor. I’m worried about _her!_ You still don’t know about that man Ki Chul? There’s nothing in this world he can’t have. _Why_? Because if he cannot have it he just gets rid of it. So if you want to keep the High Doctor living, don’t even dare to gaze at her. Don’t call her by her name. And don’t even think…”

He waved her concerns away, saying, “It’s not like that. She’s simply the person I brought here and someone I promised that I would return. That’s all.” That wasn’t true, but he wasn’t about to admit it. He even had trouble admitting feelings for her to himself; it was hopeless to set his heart on her, given his vow to return her to her world.

She was thoughtful. “I suppose that's true, since you still have that woman in your heart, the warrior girl in the Red Moon. She had you doing nothing but sleeping and fighting for seven years.”

He’d heard enough. He got up and walked away, and as he did so, Lady Choi removed something from her jacket and threw it at him. He turned and caught it. She told him, “Suribang. You’ll need that to be led to them. They recently changed their dwelling.” He briefly examined the wooden medallion with a red tassel that she’d thrown, gave her a slight smile, and went on.

About the same time, Eun-soo was walking in Ki Chul’s compound. She was thinking about Young coming into court, quickly glancing at her, unsmiling, and then kneeling before the King. She’d been disappointed that he hadn’t looked at her again. She also recalled an earlier conversation with Eum-ja and Ki Chul, while Young was still in prison. Eum-ja had told her to never stand in front of him because he had mastered the ability to kill a person in front of him with sound, and then illustrated why by playing his flute and exploding some pottery. Then he told her that someone locked in prison wouldn’t be able to evade his sound attack, no matter how strong his inner energy was, and that he’d been ordered to go to him that very evening.

Surprised, Eun-soo had said, “By ‘him’ you mean, Choi Young?”

Eum-ja replied, “Before I go, he told me to ask you, High Doctor. That person…should I kill him or keep him living?”

“Ask me? You mean, if I say to keep him alive, you will?”

“No, the opposite. If the High Doctor says to save, then kill, and if she says to kill, then save. That’s what I was told.”

Her heart clutching in fear for Young but also boiling with rage, Eun-soo had stalked into Ki Chul’s office, shouting, “Are you kidding me?!”

Ki Chul stood up from his desk as she approached him. “What has brought you so late at night…” She went to defiantly sit on his desk, but she stumbled, so Ki Chul helped her get settled on the desk with one knee folded on it.

She asked, “Are you the judge of the world or something? Are we playing executioner here? If I say to kill then save, and if I say to save then kill? I really don’t understand this.”

Ki Chul had started smiling as she talked. She was learning that he often smiled, but he was like a snake laying quietly coiled. One never knew when he’d strike, suddenly going into a rage or casually ordering someone’s death. He began, “High Doctor, I have said it continuously. Would the High Doctor give her heart to me? If your heart is with me, you wouldn’t care whether a man like him lives or dies. Do you still care?”

“Are you threatening me right now?”

“What? I was merely making an inquiry. Did that sound threatening?” He continued smiling at her and then chuckled, as though to shrug off any such interpretation. Hoping to both distract her and assuage her anger, he pointed to an elaborately embroidered cream-colored silk gown hanging nearby, with silk flowers sewn around the collar and neckline. “I was preparing that garment to ask you the favor of wearing it, if I could have your heart.”

She sighed in frustration and stood. “Listen. That man, Choi Young, is the one who kidnapped me here. _I_ will be the one to kill him or to save him. Don’t you dare touch him. If you do, I’ll swear to heaven that you won’t be in one piece. _That’s_ what you call a threat.” She had stalked off the dais but stopped at the dress. She nearly tore it off the hangar and bunched it over her arm, taking it with her. She was willing to let Ki Chul think she had accepted his offer if it would keep Young alive.

Now she was wearing that very dress as she sat in the garden. She had also worn it when she had accompanied Ki Chul to court. She bent down to touch a yellow flowering mum plant, and Ki Chul came over to her. He asked what she was thinking about, but she replied, “Why? Worried that I’ll run away? Am I a captive right now? I went to the front gate earlier and your men stopped me when I got there…”

“Where do you want to go?”

She irritably muttered to herself, “Seriously, this guy…” and then to Ki Chul, “If I ask you first, then you should answer first. But you reply to a question with another question. Why? Do you think you look cool doing that?”

“ _Cool?_ ”

Turning slightly away, she muttered to herself again, “Ah, the Heaven words keep coming out.” Then she asked him, “So anyway, can I go out?”

Smiling and chuckling, he gave her an answer, “You can’t.”

“I knew it.” She walked away from him saying, “Give you my heart? You want my heart and you keep me locked up?”

But he called to her, “You like to negotiate, right? In Heaven’s words, it was “deal” you said?”

His deal turned out to be asking her to give information about Korea’s place in the world in the future. Ki Chul unrolled a large drawing on the table in front of her and asked, “Do you recognize it?” Yang-sa sat at a nearby table, ready to take notes on their conversation.

She pulled it to her, looking it over. “Is this a map?”

“Yuan nation will soon fall, did you say? When and how? Do you know that as well? Then what dynasty comes in afterwards? How big will their empire be? Can you point it out on this map?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“He put his hands on the table and leaned toward her. “With the help of someone who knows the future, I would like to change the world. What do you think of that?”

She was unsure what to say, thinking that this was the last man that should know about the future. She tried to impress on him the danger of changing history. “If we change something wrongly, something enormous could happen in the future. I don’t really know, but that’s what people say.”

But he pressed on. “What will happen to Goryeo? How big of a nation does it become?”

“Well…it has a different name. And it gets smaller than now, and is divided in two.”

“Then tell me. What nation falls and what nation rises? Whom to take in and whom to cast off?” As he spoke, he became more and more enthused. “Then I will be able to make our nation a truly powerful and grand nation. Our people will lead the world. Tell me and I will put you, High Doctor, in the highest position, right next to me!” 

She felt very nervous about where this conversation was going.

While the High Doctor and Ki Chul were talking about the future of Korea, Eum-ja was summoned to the entrance of the compound to meet Choi Young, who told him, “I came because there’s something I need to claim.”

“Looking for what?”

“Are you the one who could give it to me?”

Hwa Su-in came over and overheard them. Flirtatious as ever, she walked up to Young telling him, “Tell me and I’ll show you what happens,” and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

But he treated them like the underlings they were. As soon as she touched him, he moved away from her and told Eum-ja, “Go and relate this, that I came to claim what is mine.”

Inside the compound, Ki Chul said to Eun-soo as he paced around the table, “Then, shall we start first with our Goryeo? Goryeo’s situation is very bad; perhaps we should just hand it to Yuan. What is your thought on that?”

But she wasn’t about to go there. “And if I said it’s not true?”

“Not true? What’s not true?” He was genuinely puzzled by her response.

“That I am not from Heaven, and I don’t know history well either.” Her voice dropped down, “If I say that?”

Ki Chul replied slowly, putting his hands on the table in front of her and leaning over. “Then you become the wily thing that fooled me. So then, are you a wily thing and not the High Doctor?”

She was saved from answering, at least temporarily, by Eum-ja coming into the room. He told Ki Chul that the Woodalchi General Choi Young had come with a request. Ki Chul finished his conversation with Eun-soo by saying, “I would be very disappointed. I’ve never felt so interested and pleased before meeting you, Heavenly Doctor.”

But her thoughts were on Young. She told him, “I must meet that person,” and headed out the door. Ki Chul sneered but felt a bit shunned. He’d just revealed how important she was to him and all she did was run to Choi Young.

The three of them, Eun-soo, Ki Chul and Eum-ja, came to meet the Woodalchi General, who was standing in the courtyard. He wasn’t wearing armor; he didn’t want to look unduly threatening. Instead, he wore a long blue outer robe and a silk black layer underneath. It was still a fighting man’s outfit; it had minimal decoration and permitted a wide range of movement.

As they approached, the General looked first at Eun-soo, then at Ki Chul, who asked, “So you have a request for me?”

Young was unsmiling and terse. “You have my sword. I came to claim it.”

“Oh right. That. The sword that your master gave you, right?”

Young de-emphasized its importance. “The Prince of the Court couldn’t possibly want the sword of a mere warrior. So perhaps you’ve forgotten that that sword is in your house.” Young continued looking directly at Ki Chul. There was no hint of friendliness or sociability in his gaze.

Ki Chul chuckled and motioned to Eum-ja, who went to get the sword. Then he walked a little away, leaving Eun-soo and Young together.

Young looked at Eun-soo as she walked up to him. He asked in a very neutral tone, “Are you well?”

“You didn’t come to see me?”

Looking away from her, he replied, “I came for my sword.”

“We need to talk. There’s a lot I want to ask you, and…”

He interrupted her. “You came to the palace with the Prince of the Court. So you have decided to stay here? That is how His Majesty understands it. Is that true?”

They looked at each other for a few moments, he unsmiling, and she, disappointed at his coolness toward her. She told him, “I am a prisoner in this house. If I say I want to leave this house, you’ll get into a fight and shed blood or bleed yourself.” He was surprised at what she said, and his gaze softened a bit. She went on, smiling slightly, “I’m doing fine here. He has to be nice to me, since he wants something from me.” Then she touched his sleeve and grasped the silky cloth for a moment, telling him in a softer voice, “You…I thought you were going to die, since everyone told me that, frightening me. But you’re alive, so that’s enough.” She smiled up at him. He swallowed and looked down at her hand on his sleeve, touched by what she had said, but giving no other indication of his feelings since Ki Chul was still nearby. She began to leave, but then turned around to tell him that she had put new burial clothes on the young Prince before sending him off. Again, he was touched. He suddenly had an idea and asked her, “In Heaven do they lie as well?” At her puzzled look, he walked up to her and spoke softly near her ear, “Are you good at it?”

“At lying?”

He told her, “Yes. You might have to do that.” And then he bowed to her and stepped away, leaving her puzzling over what he could possibly mean by that.


	18. Episode 9, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young visits the leaders of the Suribang to solicit their help for the King, and Lady Choi visits Ki Chul with a request for the doctor's services. The King and Choi Young implement their plan.

**Ki Chul’s home and the Royal Palace, Gae Kyeong**

Eum-ja brought Young’s sword to him, and the Woodalchi Commander left Ki Chul’s compound with Dae-man accompanying him. His mentor was silent and clearly pondering something as they walked, so it was awhile before Dae-man asked if the High Doctor was well. Young didn’t reply right away, so Dae-man asked, “Didn’t you meet her?”

“I met her. She is brave as usual.” He smiled as he added, “Seeing that she is not talking about food, I think she is being treated well.” After a few moments of silence, Young said to himself more than Dae-man, “When did this start?”

“Uh…About what?”

“That child's face. I no longer remember it.” He was speaking of Mae Hee, his first love.

He sat down on the railing of a bridge and Dae-man sat at his feet. There was a lot of foot traffic on the bridge, and he was waiting for a certain vendor to walk by. As the vendor came onto the bridge, Dae-man began to get up, but Young cuffed him on the head to get him to sit down again. Then he took out the wooden medallion Lady Choi had thrown at him and held it over his sword in plain sight. The vendor nodded his head ever so slightly as he passed, and they followed him at some distance.

Dae-man went ahead of Young to check out the house where the vendor had led them. He reported, “It’s not an empty house, and I could smell people inside.” As Young walked into the house’s open door, he told Dae-man to go tell the Vice Commander that he’d be late. Then he walked into an apparently empty courtyard. He stopped and looked around him and at the rooftops. Suddenly he heard a hissing sound and turned quickly to barely avoid an arrow. Just after that he was attacked by a young man with a spear. The young man wasn’t trying to kill Young, just knock him down. But Young deflected the spear and gave several body blows to the young man. Another arrow whizzed by him while the young man with the spear escaped through a side door. Young caught sight of the archer on the roof and stopped moving as yet another arrow barely missed him. He called out, “Hey! Get serious!” Then the young man with the spear was back again. Young blocked a blow with his scabbard, then took hold of one end of the spear, pulling the young man closer, then kicked him in the chest and took his spear. He twirled the spear around, turned and threw it at the archer, who jumped off the roof to avoid it.

Young knew the Suribang leaders were just giving their young warriors, Ji Ho and Ji Hul, a training exercise at his expense. He said loudly, “Wasn’t that enough?” But evidently it wasn’t. He was next attacked by a tall sword-wielding man dressed in white. The tall, thin man was almost feminine in his movements, as much of a dancer as a swordsman, with large and flowing motions. Finally Young asked, after avoiding one of his sword thrusts, “Aren’t you tired?” The man twirled and fell backward into Young’s arms, looking up at him while batting his eyelashes and saying flirtatiously, “But I waited so long!” Young knew the other two young warriors, but this man was new to him. Young shoved him away and called into the air, “Pledged Uncle! _Do_ something. This is so bothersome! ”The air spoke back to him in a gravelly voice, “Hey you, Choi Young.” He turned and looked up. There, on the roof, were his pledged aunt and uncle, a brother and sister who were the heads of the Suribang. Their pledged brother had been Young’s master in the Red Crescent Moon army, and for many years now they had treated Young like family.

He smiled with real pleasure, saying, “It’s been awhile,” and bowed to them.

His pledged uncle scolded, “I heard you became the new king’s dog. Let me hear you bark: Arf! Arf!” Young chuckled.

His pledged aunt didn’t look particularly pleased with him either, but she raised one eyebrow and asked, “Are you eating your meals? Should I put together a bowl of rice soup for you?”

But her brother protested, “What? Rice for a dog?”

“He needs it to bark,” she said dryly.

Young took their scolding in good humor and was told to come up to the second floor for his pledged aunt’s famous rice soup.

The swordsman in white came to sit next to him as he ate, placing tidbits in his spoon and eyeing him with a come-hither gaze. Young glanced at him, smiled briefly to be polite, but then ignored him. Both men and women were often attracted to the tall, good-looking warrior, but they were soon discouraged by his total lack of interest. The two siblings sat across from him, continuing to give him a hard time. They reminded him that he had told them that he was leaving the palace and would be coming to them within a month, but that had been several months ago. They were also skeptical of the talk about a doctor from heaven, sure that it was a lie. Was Young committing fraud by supporting that lie? His pledged aunt commented that seven years of palace life would even corrupt the Buddha. At last his uncle asked why he had come.

Young replied, “To get people.”

“What people?”

His pledged aunt’s eyes lit up as she asked if that meant he was going to marry, and would he like her to help him with matchmaking? Would he be OK with an attractive widow? That started the two siblings to start bantering with each other all over again, this time about whether to pair him with a widow. His pledged uncle thought the ghost of their pledged brother might not be happy about that, and his sister said if there was a ghost, it would be his former lover, since he had been unable to forget her for the past seven years.

As they talked, the swordsman in white moved so close to Young that he became uncomfortable. He took his soup bowl with him as he moved to the adjacent table where his pledged uncle was sitting, and then he continued eating.

At last there was a pause in the discussion. In the brief lull Young told them, “The King needs people.”

“So are you seriously the King’s dog now?” His uncle had no use for officials or kings.

Still eating his soup, Young took another spoonful and replied, “He says he wants to be a real king. But he doesn’t have enough support. So I need your help. You two have all of Goryeo’s information and people in your grasp.”

Eventually, after more banter and scolding, his pledged aunt and uncle reluctantly agreed to provide some information and help. But they did it as a favor to Young, not for the King. They were very leery of anything to do with government, as they generally found officials greedy or punitive.

While Young continued working on strengthening the King’s position, the High Doctor was getting more and more frustrated with staying at Ki Chul’s mansion. For one thing, she was a virtual prisoner; for another he was getting more demanding about the information he wanted from her. She wondered if she could force the guards to let her through rather than hurt her. She impatiently removed the fancy gown Ki Chul had given her. It didn’t come off easily, and right then it was wrapped around her head as she struggled to remove it. At last she got it off and threw it on the floor. Dressed in regular clothes, she walked toward the entrance to the compound with her big purse in hand. She was soon stopped by several guards. She told them that she was the doctor from heaven and to move aside. She even swung her purse at them to get them to back up as she walked forward. Then Ki Chul arrived, having been told what she was doing. He told her, “I think you haven’t figured this out yet. High Doctor, you are now my person. You accepted my gift and accompanied me to court. The King has given you to me.”

“I’m not someone who can be given by someone to someone else. I’m a person from heaven, right? So now get out of my way.”

Annoyed, Ki Chul grabbed her wrist as she tried to go past him and pulled her around in front of him. “Must I put chains around your wrists and lock you up?”

She was still defiant. “But how will you know whether I’m lying or telling the truth about the future? In speaking about the future, I will decide when and to whom. So shouldn’t you be good to me?”

Ki Chul let go of her arm, but told her, “My patience stops here.” Talking to his soldiers, he ordered, “Take her.”

They took hold of her while he walked away. She cried, “Seriously! Let me go. Alright, I’m going. I’m going!”

Ki Chul returned to his office only to find Lady Choi waiting for him. She bowed as he entered the room. He asked, “What is the High Court Lady doing here?”

Standing erect but with her eyes lowered, she spoke in a calm and respectful manner, “I have come for an urgent matter. The Queen’s injury that she received on her journey home has become infected. She is in critical condition.”

“Oho! Well, that is a big problem.” He turned aside with his hands behind his back, beginning to consider the ramifications of this.

She continued, “Hence, I have come to request the High Doctor of this household. It is the injury the High Doctor was treating with Heavenly powers. I am told the doctors from the land are unable to handle it. So we ask you to help her.”

As he heard her request, Ki Chul whirled around and scowled at her. “I?”

“I have heard the High Doctor has given her heart to the Prince of the Court of this household. Is it not so?”

Suspicious, he confirmed, “That’s right. And if I send her to you? What if the Queen’s injury doesn’t improve and she is unable to return?”

“My Queen has asked you to come with her.”

“To come with her?” He found that hard to believe.

Lady Choi looked around, as if to assure herself that no one else was there before divulging a secret. She drew closer to him and said in a low voice, “The Queen also has words she’d like to speak to you in private.” She hadn’t entirely allayed his suspicions, but he was very curious. He even wondered if the Queen was tired of her powerless husband and wanted Ki Chul’s help to dispose of him so she could return home to Yuan.

At the palace the focus of their conversation, the Queen, was lying in bed, apparently very ill. Dr. Jang reached through the gauzy curtain separating her bed from the rest of the chamber and took her pulse. Then he told his assistant to burn more aloeswood, which was thought to help balance chi, the body’s energy. He added in a worried tone, “She’s not regaining consciousness at all.” Just outside the door was the maiden guard who was keeping an ear out for information. She soon reported to Ki Chul’s household that, indeed, the Queen seemed to be very ill.

When he heard that news, Ki Chul went to Eun-soo’s room, had the door unlocked and went in. She was sitting on her bed and didn’t look up when he entered. He told her, “It looks like you will have to go with me.”

Still without looking at him, she replied sarcastically, “Why bother asking? You can just drag me with you.”

“The Queen is seriously ill.” That got her attention, as it was meant to do. He continued, “The palace sent someone here, who said only the High Doctor from Heaven can tend to her. What should I do? Should I decline?” He knew she’d jump at the chance for a trip outside the compound.

Meanwhile, the King had come to the Queen’s chambers with a look of great concern on his face. As the King entered, Dr. Jang rose from sitting by the Queen and bowed. The King asked him, “How is she?”

“Not very well.”

“May I take a look?” Dr. Jang nodded and then left.

The King waited until Dr. Jang had left and the doors to her chambers were secured. He sat next to her bed, and in a low voice spoke to her. “I am very sorry for asking you to do such a difficult task. I do not know if he will react as we planned. But asking a queen to…”

The Queen slowly sat up. “It is not difficult. I wanted to help in some way.” The King turned to look at her, a little surprised. She continued, “But whenever I tried to do something, it only made you angrier. To me that is…” and she looked at him as she spoke, “…what’s been most difficult.”

He slowly drew the gauze curtain aside and they gazed at each other. Still unsure of himself, he asked her, “Because I am too weak?”

But she told him, “And words like that…are what I hated to hear the most.” He gazed at her with new appreciation.

Having so far taken the bait, Ki Chul arrived at the palace with Eun-soo and Eum-ja. As they climbed the long stairway, Eun-soo looked around for Young, although she didn’t see him, but Young had seen them. Once they entered the palace, he walked around the corner and along a walkway where several Woodalchi were stationed. There Deok-man and Ji Ho, the young Suribang spearman, were roughly jostling each other, half-playful and half-serious. Young smacked the back of Deok-man’s head, saying, “What are you doing?” His men were supposed to be alert and on watch. Then he turned to the young spearman, “So? Do you have it?”

Ji Ho replied, “I brought it, of course. Here.” He handed a set of bound documents to Young, who briefly glanced through them and then strode away.

As Ki Chul and company approached the Queen’s area of the palace, they were stopped by two of the Queen’s warrior maidens. Lady Choi came right behind them and bowed slightly to Ki Chul. Eun-soo smiled broadly at her, but Lady Choi only addressed Ki Chul. Glancing at Eum-ja, she told him, “Not just anyone can enter. Prince of the Court from Deokseong and High Doctor, please come.” Ki Chul sneered at the restriction and motioned Eum-ja to accompany them, but the warrior maidens crossed their swords in front of Eum-ja, blocking his path. He was unhappy but decided to wait for the outcome of this meeting. Lady Choi led the other two down the corridor but walked past the doors to the Queen’s chamber. Ki Chul looked surprised, but he kept following Lady Choi. She led them to the throne room.

As she reached to open the doors, Ki Chul said, “Wait. What’s this?” She didn’t reply but opened the doors and bowed, indicating they should enter. As soon as they did, she closed the doors behind them, and several Woodalchi took up positions around the room. Eun-soo and Ki Chul looked around them, wondering what was happening.

The King came into the room from another door and walked over to stand in front of them, wearing his formal black and gold court robe. Smiling, he addressed the Doctor, “High Doctor, have you been well?”

“So-so. What about you, King?”

“I’ve been well.”

Concerned by what she’d heard about the Queen, Eun-soo asked, “Where’s the Queen? How is she ill?”

“We’ll address that later.” The King turned around and walked to the front of the room, onto the raised dais, then faced them again in his official capacity.

So far Ki Chul had been completely left out of the conversation. He bowed slightly and said to the King, “Ki Chul, the Prince of the Court from Deokseong, in Your Majesty’s attendance.”

Then Young entered the room and stood by the King, just below the dais. He addressed the King, “Your Majesty, preparations for the Royal Interrogation are set.”

The King nodded and said, “Let’s begin.”

Ki Chul started looking worried. “Royal Interrogation?!”

Young looked at Eun-soo and began, “High Doctor. Name from heaven, Yoo . Eun . Soo. That woman, on the fifth day of the past month, trespassed into Prince Kyeong Chung’s residence, saying she will escort Prince Kyeong Chung, who was ill, to the Heavenly nation. For one night and two days, she kidnapped him and moved him around.” Ki Chul closed his eyes, beginning to understand. She, on the other hand, was aghast at what he had just said. Young continued, “The mastermind behind this matter is the current Governor of Ganghwa, Ahn Seong Ho. He hid Prince Kyeong Chung and High Doctor in his private residence. And he attempted negotiations with me, Commander of Woodalchi.” Just then another guard entered, shoving the richly dressed but now disheveled Governor in front of him, then pushed him to the floor near Ki Chul.

At the same time several Woodalchi, led by Choon-sik, approached Eum-ja where he was waiting and insisted that he disarm. They told him that only the Woodalchi and the Queen’s warriors were allowed to have weapons in that place. It took Deok-man placing his sword against Eum-ja’s neck, telling him that it was a royal order and to disobey was treason, but they were eventually successful in disarming him.

In the throne room, the Royal Interrogation continued. The Gangwha Governor, now on all fours with his head bowed, cried, “I am innocent, Your Majesty! What is this bolt from the blue?!” He looked up at Ki Chul, who was next to him and said, “Lord, it is I, Ahn Seong Ho.” Then he placed his hands around Ki Chul’s ankle.

The King looked at Ki Chul with interest, saying, “Is he someone the Prince of the Court knows?”

Ki Chul denied it and jerked his leg away from the prisoner. The Governor realized he’d get no help there. Ki Chul continued, “So then, what did you say my High Doctor did?”

Young replied, “I will ask the High Doctor.” He turned to address her, “Who told you to go to Prince Kyeong Chung?”

She huffed, “Look here. You were right there with me!” But Young shook his head ever so slightly at her, adding, “Was it the Governor of Ganghwa who told you to go and cure Prince Kyeong Chung’s illness?” The Governor looked horrified, and Eun-soo, now unsure what to say, suddenly recalled Young’s question about whether she could lie.

Hesitantly she began to move her pointing finger toward Ki Chul as she said, “The one who asked me was…” But as she watched Young, he looked down at the Governor. She slowly directed her finger downward, finishing, “…This person. Governor of Ganghwa.” The Governor started to rise to protest, but his guard pushed him down again, back to the floor.

After that exchange Eun-soo looked a little lost, and Ki Chul looked furious.

Young turned to the King and said with great gravity, “It’s as we heard. Governor of Ganghwa, Ahn Seong Ho, asked High Doctor from Heaven to treat the Prince. He pulled out the very ill Prince Kyeong Chung. Furthermore, he asked me in person what I would do if the Prince wished to take the throne again and wanted my help.”

Ki Chul interrupted, “Wait. Your Majesty, we must still verify something.”

“Is there something else you know? Previously you told me Choi Young took the High Doctor out of your house, right?”

“That is…”

But now Young interrupted, “With what power would I trespass alone into the house of the Prince Deokseong and move someone? Unless the Prince of the Court handed the High Doctor to me to go and treat Prince Kyeong Chung.”

The King asked Ki Chul, “You did not do that, did you?”

Ki Chul smiled, recognizing the trap, and said with gritted teeth, “Of course it wouldn’t be the case.”

The King turned to the Governor and announced his sentence. “From this moment forward, Ganghwa Governor is stripped from his post. All of his personal assets from Ganghwa are to be given to the National Treasury.”

The Governor cried out, “Your Majesty!!” and began sobbing.

Then Young handed the booklet he had received from the Suribang to the King. It was a list of all of the Governor’s assets. The King began thumbing through it, reading, “…Ginseng farms and the port facility…Your assets are quite enormous.” Reading further, he said, “But this…two-thirds of the earnings go to the Ki clan.” Looking at Ki Chul he said, “Then are these your possessions, Prince of the Court from Deokseong?”

They were, but raging inside, Ki Chul had to deny it, saying, “They are not.”

“Ah. That’s good then.” Then the King pronounced the sentence: “Ahn Seong Ho, who broke the national law and plotted treason, shall be turned over to the Bureau of Correction and he shall pay for his misdeed accordingly.” Then the King turned to the Doctor. “Furthermore, High Doctor, who went along with him and pulled Prince Kyeong Chung out, which led to his death, will have to pay for her wrongdoings.”

All Eun-soo knew about treason was the horrible method of death inflicted on those found guilty. She was aghast, nearly speechless. “Wh-What?!”

But the King continued, now addressing Ki Chul. “Though I am aware that High Doctor is a person of yours, due to the circumstance being as it is, I have no choice but to handle the matter according to the law. Please understand.” Ki-chul understood very well. He chuckled ruefully as he realized he’d been outplayed a second time on the Goryeo game board. 

Eun-soo was taken away by the warrior maidens while crying, “Wait! Wait a minute!!” She fought against them, certain she was going to prison and a gruesome death. Her purse was left behind on the floor. Young regretfully watched them take her out of the room and saw her look back at him in desperation, but at that moment there was nothing he could do to ease her pain.

Young’s attention was called back by the Governor, still on the floor. “Please, General. Why on earth are you going this to me? Exactly why?”

Young walked over to him and crouched down. He sighed and said matter-of-factly, “Your three rules for the generations to live well, My Lord, I think that was the problem.”

Sweating profusely with red-rimmed eyes, the Governor begged, “Look here. I did wrong. Please forgive me. Please just spare my life.”

With no sympathy in his expression, Young told him, “I’m sorry. I tend to hold a grudge.” He held the Governor equally complicit with Ki Chul in the Prince’s death. He looked up at the guard, who slapped a hand on the Governor and took him away.

The King and Ki Chul stared at each other. Ki Chul was reminded again that there was more to this young King than he had originally thought. When Ki Chul and Eum-ja left the palace, Young observed them from the side as they went down the stairs. Ki Chul glared at him and he bowed in return. Once he left, though, Young couldn’t avoid a slight sneer. This particular battle had gone well. They had brought the High Doctor back and gained significant wealth for the Crown. But whether they could win the war was still an open question.

After leaving the throne room, Eun-soo continued to resist the warrior maidens as they dragged her along the corridors, saying, “Wait a minute! Stop for a second! Where are you taking me?! So am I a criminal who committed treason and stuff?! But they tie a traitor to a pillar and kill them by shaving their flesh! But why me? Wait a minute!” By the time they arrived at the Queen’s chambers, there were four maiden warriors trying to handle her hysteria and frantic efforts to get loose. Lady Choi stepped out, bowed and calmly said, “The Queen has been expecting you.”

They seated the panting Eun-soo at a table and the Queen sat down with her. She asked the Doctor, “Are you all right?” Then seeing how upset she was, the Queen ordered water for her.

Eun-soo told her tearfully, “They said I committed treason! I’m a high criminal! But it was because that jerk told me to lie…”

Lady Choi interjected, “Prince of the Court from Deokseong is too powerful to be attacked directly. So the King is going after his allies first.”

Still frightened, Eun-soo asked, “But what is the price of the crime?”

“You have done wrong not knowing the earthly matters here…And considering your meritorious deed of saving the Queen…”

Frantic, Eun-soo shouted, “So what are you going to do to me?!”

Lady Choi, continuing in her calm manner, told her, “You will be in charge of the Queen’s royal health from now on, and your residence will be restricted within the Royal Medicine Office. That is the royal command.” Eun-soo heard her and relaxed a little, but she was still breathing heavily from her struggles and being overloaded with adrenaline. She tried to calm herself by sipping her water. She looked up to see the Queen gazing at her with sympathy.

Sometime later, Eun-soo left the Queen’s quarters to return to her own. Young was seated on a banister nearby, having waited for her all that time. When he saw her emerge from the Queen’s chambers, he stood up and continued looking at her as walked toward him, not sure what to say to her. She looked grim and glared at him as she approached, walking right by him without saying a word. Then she stopped and turned around. Furious, she shouted at him, “This is just too much no matter what! You forcibly kidnapped me from my world. Do you even remember that?!”

He quietly replied, “I remember.”

“Then you forced me to do surgery in some slum as soon as I got here. You got me locked up, beaten and dragged around!” She was so furious that she kicked him in the shin, hard. It clearly hurt because he bent over to grab his leg. She went on, “And what? Am I good at lying? Crime of treason? Pay the price of my crime?!” She tried to kick him again, but this time he moved before she could connect. It threw her off balance and he caught her before she could fall. But she immediately struggled out of his arms, crying, “Don’t touch me! See if you dare to come near me!” She turned and stomped off.

Young felt the full force of her anger. He recalled all the things they’d been through since he’d brought her to the land. Yes, he’d done the things she said, but he’d also done his best to protect her, rescuing her more than once. And no matter what he had told his aunt, he had started having feelings for her that went beyond his vow. He sighed, knowing what he and the King had done was necessary, but he wasn’t sure if she’d ever forgive him.

Eun-soo walked back to her quarters, beginning to cry. She saw Dr. Jang and went to him, hugged him and sobbed, “I really can’t do this anymore. This place, this world is too horrendous! Why me?!” While she cried, Dr. Jang looked up to see Young watching them from a distance. He hoped Young didn’t think he had designs on the High Doctor; he’d seen how the General looked at her. But Eun-soo was oblivious and continued weeping, “I miss my mom, too. And my father. I really can’t take it anymore!” Putting a comforting arm around her, Dr. Jang took her inside. Young left. 

Dr. Jang had a quiet, calm air about him that tended to soothe others. It was part of why he was such a trusted Doctor. He brought Eun-soo some special tea to help her relax and stayed to talk. He put a shawl around her shoulders while telling her, “Since you are always cheerful, I was startled to see you cry.”

“I was startled too. I don’t cry easily. It hurts my pride.”

“I know it’s hard. But the General promised he would send you back, so he will keep his word. Right now, there are too many things going on, so if you wait a little…”

But she told him impatiently, “I don’t belong here. This isn’t my world. I’m living here but I don’t belong here. Do you understand?”

“I’m not sure.”

She turned away in frustration, thinking of how helpless she felt as a doctor without her modern tools, saying, “I…there’s nothing I can do.” She sat down, remembering. “He…asked me as the young prince was dying…if there was some way to help him. That I am the Doctor.”

As Dr. Jang poured tea for her, he replied, “I heard about Prince Kyeong Chung being poisoned.”

“Could you have done something, if it was you?”

“There’s no treatment for that poison. The only way is to give the victim an easier death.”

“See? You couldn’t have saved him either. He wasn’t killed because I was lacking, right?”

“If I had been there, at the very least, I wouldn’t have let the General use his knife to end the Prince’s suffering.”

Puzzled, she asked him, “What are you saying?”

“General Choi Young is a warrior who must protect his lord. But he had to kill his lord with his own hands.”

“That’s right. He killed that child. I saw it.” She was still horrified by what he had done.

But Dr. Jang thought she needed to understand. “No. What he killed was his own heart.”

“What do you mean?”

“As I know it, after that incident, the General gave up his hope of being a free man.”

“What?”

“That was his heart’s desire. To leave the court and be a free man.” She finally understood that ending the suffering of the Prince had cost Young dearly.

After leaving the palace and arriving home at Ki Chul’s mansion, Yang-sa gave his master an accounting of the income they had just lost through the machinations of Choi Young and the King. While Ki-chul paced, Yang-sa was reading a long list, finishing with, “…and 24,000 ginsengs from Gangwha Island each year. Profit from the ginseng trade, five thousand yang. This has gone into the King’s hands. And the newly appointed Governor is out of our reach.”

But Ki Chul was thinking about something else entirely. He went to the chest where he kept the Hwata relics and took out an object wrapped in a piece of leather. “I can surely confirm with this.”

Yang-sa asked him, “What about Ganghwa Island…?”

“Ganghwa Island or Goryeo, that is not important. I am still not sure about her. I really want it to be true… Where did you say she is right now? The High Doctor that the King stole away from me through trickery. Where is she?” Eum-ja told him that she was back at the Herbal Medicine House in the royal compound. Ki Chul said, “I must go. I will.” 

But as he turned to leave, he suddenly stopped and grabbed his right hand with his left; it was shaking and getting very cold. Yang-sa asked if he should prepare a concoction, but Ki Chul said there was no need. All of them looked concerned. His inner power was rebounding on him with increasing frequency, and could eventually kill him. He said with regret, “So many things to do and to have in this world. Time is too short.” His hand soon stopped shaking, at least for the time being, and with a renewed sense of urgency he made for the Herbal Medical House and the High Doctor, with Eum-ja following him.

Ki-Chul and Eum-ja strode right into the Herbal Medical House and down a hallway, encountering Deo-ki but rudely pushing her aside. Dr. Jang heard the commotion and came into the hallway. Eun-soo came there as well. Seeing her, Ki Chul called, “So you were here.”

Dr. Jang asked, “What brings Prince of the Court from Deokseong here?”

Addressing only the High Doctor, Ki Chul said, “I came because there’s something I want to show you. As I mentioned before, there were three items left by Hwata. Do you remember?”

Not wanting to have anything to do with him, she said, “What about it?”

“I brought the second item. You don’t want to see it? I want to show it to you alone, secretly, with others unable to see or hear.”

He was right, she did want to see it. She brought him to her room. She said, “So we’re alone, away from anyone else’s sight or hearing. Show me.”

Looking at her quarters, he commented, “This room looks smaller than the one I provided. Are you fonder of this place?”

Crossing her arms, she told him, “In Heaven, this is what we say at times like this. Don’t try any tricks and show your card.”

He took out the wrapped object and placed it on the table, telling her, “It seems like a type of journal. After much effort, I found out they are Western numbers in here. But the rest, I can’t read at all.”

“You’re telling me to try and read it, right? Let’s have a look.” He smiled and pushed it toward her and they both sat down at her table. She removed the leather wrapping and caught her breath when she saw the front cover of the notebook. It was purplish leather with a modern snap closure, discolored with age and with many small cracks in the leather. It also had the English word, “ _Diary_ ,” stamped on it. Very puzzled, she asked, “This…This is Hwata’s relic, you say?”

He was watching her carefully. “That is how I understand it.”

“Then…This is an item from many hundreds of years ago?”

“Hwata is from a thousand years ago.”

She slowly opened the cover and began reading what was written on the pages. There were columns of numbers and notations, some with yellow highlighting. Finally she turned to the last page, a blank sheet except for a name written in the bottom outer corner. She looked at it in disbelief. A name was penciled there. It read, in modern Hangul writing, “ _Eun-soo_.”


	19. Episode 10, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ki Chul shows the doctor a notebook that throws her into consternation. Choi Young obtains a list of potential advisors for the King. The doctor decides to take her fate into her own hands and tells Choi Young not to protect her any longer.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital City of Goryeo**

As Eun-soo began thumbing through the pages of the book, Ki Chul asked her if she could read it. Stunned, she slowly nodded. Then, when she saw her signature on the last sheet, she was more than stunned. With tears in her eyes she cried, “What is this? How can this be?” Ki Chul wanted to know what was written there.

With a dazed look on her face she said, “Please tell me that this is all a dream.”

“High Doctor, what do those letters mean?”

Tears fell as she nearly whispered, “That it’s a very long, complicated, nonsensical dream.” She slowly shook her head from side to side, “This makes no sense. I just have to wake up and it will end.” She began having heaving sobs, finding it unbelievable, yet there the unbelievable thing was, sitting on the table.

Ki Chul got up and went to her, putting an arm around her, solicitously asking, “What does it say there that it’s such a shock? Try to tell me.” When she didn’t respond, he looked at the writing on the last page. One of her tears had fallen close to the signature in the corner. “You recognize that, don’t you?” Then he smiled with anticipation, “Is it a writing from the Heavens?”

She paused her sobbing long enough to say, “My name. Look. “ _Eun Soo.”_ My name.”

He was also shocked, and turned the pages back to the text, pointing to a page. “What is the meaning of this then?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know, but…” She started reading some of the numbers in the text, “1171…1117…1315 x…It seems like they are some kind of coordinates.”

“Coordinates?”

“Maybe this shows where that gate is…The gate that will take me back to my world.”

She started to turn the page, but Ki Chul hurriedly closed the cover and snatched it from the table. He held it in front of him, saying, “Then, that’s enough for now.”

“Wh-What are you doing?” She gasped.

“Since I can’t send you back yet.”

She reached for it, “Give it to me!”

But he held it away from her, saying, “I’m sorry.”

Desperate to know more about the mysterious book, she continued to demand that he give it to her, starting to shout at him. Then she began to throw things at him when he didn’t respond. Dr. Jang and Eum-ja, hearing the crash of broken porcelain, came quickly, and Dr. Jang physically restrained her. But she continued to fight to get to Ki Chul and the journal. She thought it could be her ticket home. But unfortunately, so did Ki Chul. He didn’t want her leaving without him. He told her he’d return when she was calmer, and they would look at it together. Then he and Eum-ja left. She collapsed, sitting on the floor with tears on her cheeks, shocked and wondering, “It was the Hangul alphabet. The letters in that book. But that makes no sense. But it looked like my writing. My name. I write it like that. But I’ve never seen that book before!”

Leaving the High Doctor’s quarters and the palace, Ki Chul and Eum-ja passed Young, who was coming there with two other Woodalchi. All three of them stopped and bowed to Ki Chul, then started to go past him. But the Prince of the Court called Young back. “Woodalchi. Did you say you went to Heaven and came back?”

Young stopped but didn’t turn around. “Yes, I did.”

“What did you see? What exactly is the world of Heaven like?”

“I didn’t have time to see what kind of place it was.” Both of them turned around and faced each other.

“Nothing?”

“Right.” Young wasn’t about to tell him anything about Heaven.

“So you’re saying all you managed to do in Heaven was to bring just one doctor?”

“It was the order I received. To escort a doctor here.” Young stared at him coldly.

“Was there nothing more you could bring from Heaven? All you saw in Heaven was just one doctor?”

With a slight smile of satisfaction, Young noted, “So now you believe I made the trip to Heaven.”

Sneering in disgust, Ki Chul said, “I regarded you as someone with a brain despite your grip on the sword, but I was wrong. The door to Heaven opened and you went there, but you at best just followed the King’s order?”

“‘At best’ the King’s order, did you say?” Young felt a rising anger. To him, following the King’s order was a high calling, and fulfilling that particular order had taken all his courage and skill; the other man had no idea what had been involved.

Ki Chul continued lashing out at him. “Such a waste. It’s infuriating. Why did a door like that open for a rice scum like you?! What rotten luck for Goryeo, to open for scum like you instead of me!”

As a commoner, Young couldn’t just ignore a noble or walk away while one was speaking to him. Instead, he smiled and replied, “Heaven must have its own reasons. They must have known a noble like you might rob them of their treasures. When a rice scum like me ‘at best’ just carries a doctor away.” By the time he finished speaking, he had returned to his cold, unsmiling stare.

Ki Chul, never one to show that an arrow had hit home, chuckled at the insult, then turned and walked away. Young bowed to him as he left.

Young continued into the palace to meet some of his men. He needed to send someone to guard the High Doctor. Deok-man said, “You are not going to go?” But after the tongue-lashing she had given him after the Royal Interrogation, not to mention a kick to his shin, Young knew his presence at her quarters would not be welcome. He decided to send Deok-man to guard her at the Herbal House. Dae-man told him he wanted to go, but Young told him he’d already lost track of her once. He started to protest, but Deok-man interrupted him and told his General, “Please don’t worry. I will give my life to protect her.”

Young smacked him in the head, saying, “Didn’t I tell you not give your life carelessly? Do you keep a few lives in your pocket or something? If she falls into danger, then just carry her out no matter what. Don’t think about fighting.” Deok-man grinned, delighted to hear that. He said that picking her up would mean touching that very pretty woman. But mentioning that earned him a kick from his General. Then Young left his men to see to other business.

That same afternoon a boy was carried into the Royal Medical Office, moaning with pain. They carefully laid him on an examining table covered with pads and sheets. He was a comely lad, the son of a wealthy precinct officer. Dr. Jang began to examine him, asking him where it hurt most, but he was in so much pain he just continued to moan. An attendant told Dr. Jang that he had started to have a severe stomachache the day before, and it had only gotten worse since then. He had even vomited overnight.

Meanwhile, Eun-soo was still sitting on the floor of her room, thinking about her fight with Ki Chul and what she had seen in the notebook. Her eyes suddenly caught movement outside her window and she got up to see what or who it was. It was Deok-man, come to guard her. When he saw her at the window, just a foot or so from him, he was so surprised he ducked below the sill, then shyly rose up again. He introduced himself, “I-I’m Woodalchi’s Oh Deok-man. I came with an order to protect the High Doctor. Our General gave me the order.”

She replied distractedly, “I’m Yoo Eun-soo. Nice to meet you.” Behind Deok-man, she saw Deo-ki rushing with some herbs toward the Medical Office. To have something else to do other than moping about, she decided to investigate. Entering the Medical Office, she saw the boy on the table, still moaning. She asked Dr. Jang, “You have an urgent-care patient?” He told her that it was intestinal catarrh.

“Intestinal _what_?”

“Moisture and blood are leaking into his intestine and festering.”

Eun-soo asked if she could take a look. Pressing on various places on his abdomen, she found that the pain was worst in his lower right abdomen, a classic sign of appendicitis. She asked if he had a fever and vomiting, and his attendant confirmed that was so. She told Dr. Jang that she needed to operate on the young man, but then remembered that Ki Chul had her surgical instruments. Meanwhile Dr. Jang was continuing to treat the young man with acupuncture and other herbal preparations, trying to draw out the toxins.

She decided that she must recover her instruments. She returned to her room, picked up her purse and went out the door. Deok-man tried to stop her, “Where are you going? If the General finds out…”

She interrupted him, “Deok-man, I have no sense of direction and I was dragged there, so I don’t really know the way. I need you to help me get to Ki Chul’s house.” She grabbed him by the sleeve and tugged him along with her, telling him, “He has to be operated on before midnight; I have to hurry.”

Thinking of how the General would view this, he tried to resist her, crying, “I will die!”

But she continued tugging him along. “This is urgent. Hurry.” He was very reluctant, but in the end he did show her to Ki Chul’s mansion. He hoped he’d survive the General’s punishment for taking her there.

When she arrived at the Prince of the Court’s mansion, she told Yang-sa that she wanted her things. While waiting for Ki Chul, she remembered Hwa Su-in's advice about never looking weak in front of him. So she practiced putting on a friendly smile and a relaxed face for when she talked with him. She asked Deok-man how her smile looked, awkward or natural, but he was young and only knew the life of a soldier. He was oblivious to the subtleties of civilian conversation. With a shy smile he said only, “You look pretty.”

Ki Chul came in, along with his minions, Eum-ja, Hwa Su-in and Yang-sa. She asked him how he’d been, but he only commented that she must be there about the notebook, that she just couldn’t wait any longer to see it.

She corrected him, “Ah…no. I came to find my surgery tools.” Putting on her game face, she told him, “I’m a doctor. I’m a physician, right? I need my tools in order to work. For you, they wouldn’t be of any use to you. So just give them to me.”

Ki Chul’s face had his usual cat-beginning-to-toy-with-a-mouse smile on it. “You are not doing a ‘deal’? It’s no fun to just give them to you.”

“So you already gave up?”

“Me? On what?”

“My heart. You said you wanted to have it. So keep trying. If we become one-hearted, we could sit side-by-side on good terms and see what’s written in that book. We could research together. If the coordinates noted in there are actually right, we might be able to go to Heaven together.”

“Together?” He was very surprised to hear her talking like this.

Keeping her face enthusiastic and inviting, she continued, “Don’t you want to visit there? But today I’m a bit busy. So for now, just give me my tools.” She held her hand out, but it shook, betraying her nerves. They both noticed it, and she put her other hand over it to stop the shaking and drew it back.

Ki Chul chuckled. “Don’t be afraid. To me right now, you are more important than this nation. I might change my mind tomorrow, but today, at this moment, that is true. So please take care of yourself. Soon I will pull you out from that clinic, so just wait a bit.” He smiled at her, intending it to reassure her, but she knew that a coiled snake lived just below the surface of that smile.

But he did give her instruments to her.

After leaving his men, Young’s other business was to see the King. The King was reviewing another list from the Suribang, the group known for peddling medicine up front and information from the back. They had provided a list of potential advisors to the King, men to replace those loyalists who had been murdered. The two men discussed several of people on the list, especially one man who Young had suggested for Chief Councilor. Young told him that he wasn’t sure if that man would come at the King’s summons. It would mean that he would be turning against Ki Chul, a dangerous thing to do in these times.

The King laughed with gallows humor, “So what I give him could be the registry to the afterlife instead of an official post?” He went ahead and marked that name on the list, as well as some others.

The King asked Young if he could have the Suribang in addition to the advisors he was gathering. Young said he wasn’t sure, and the King asked him why not.

He replied that although their leader was his pledged uncle, “They call me a dog who is under a petty king.” Young went on to tell him about the discussion he’d had with his pledged aunt and uncle. While he was enthusiastically eating a bowl of his aunt’s delicious rice soup, his uncle had reminded him that a king had killed Young's master, his own pledged brother, without thought or consideration.

Then the brother and sister had bantered about the metaphor of a dog and his master, with the uncle asking a question and the aunt answering. “A dog who is loyal to its owner, you see, when the owner wants to eat him and boils water on the side, he beats the crap out of it. Why?”

She responded, “You have to beat the crap out of it so the meat is tender.”

“But then the rope gets snapped and the dog flees. Why?”

Because it hurts.”

But then when the owner calls, it comes back, wagging its tail. Why?”

“Because it’s a dog.”

His uncle had looked at his pledged nephew and repeated, “Because it’s a dog. That’s how your master died!”

Young would never get that terrible image out of his memory, the inebriated King stabbing his teacher. Nevertheless, he had replied, “This king is different.”

His uncle looked at the aunt, exclaiming, “Hey, kings are all the same. There’s no difference!”

And his aunt scoffed, “I gave you hot food and you say that? Stop stuffing yourself!” And she took Young's soup bowl away from him. He looked longingly after it, missing that soup already.

His uncle was so carried away with anger that he shouted at Young, “Don’t even step in this house again.”

“Pledged uncle.”

“Don’t call me, I said.”

The King laughed at Young’s story. The pledged aunt and uncle had come around, at least a little, or they wouldn’t have agreed to furnish the names on the list. The King marked a few more names on it and said he was looking forward to meeting the new advisors as well as the Suribang. He wanted to meet them all.

Young asked, “And after you meet them all?”

“They say Prince of the Court from Deokseong’s joy in living is to collect people’s hearts. So I want to try and gather as well. That heart of the people.” He gave the scroll to Young, who took it, smiling broadly and chuckling. The King asked him, “Did you just sneer?”

Enjoying his conversation with the King, Young replied, “No, I was just smiling. I will find them according to your order.”

It had begun to snow while Dae-man was waiting for his General. He had the unenviable task of telling him that the High Doctor had gone to Ki Chul’s house. His response was predictable.

“ _What_?!”

Dae-man hurried to say, “But she came back. She’s fixing a person right now. With those tools.”

Young sighed in frustration. He began to go to the Medical Office, but first he threw the scroll he’d received from the King to Dae-man, instructing him, “Give that to the Vice General and tell him to find the whereabouts of those with a dot on top.”

Dae-man repeated to himself, “Vice Commander, dot, whereabouts. Vice Commander, dot, whereabouts.” He hurried to find Choon-sik.

Having recovered her surgical instruments, Eun-soo had operated on the boy with appendicitis. In the middle of the operation the light went out on her loupe. When Young came to find her, she was in her quarters examining it, bemoaning the dead battery. He said, “I heard you went to Prince of the Court from Deokseong’s house.”

She replied coolly, “So what?” She’d been doing some thinking about the tug of war over her between the King and Ki Chul. She wanted out of the game. And she didn’t want Young putting himself at risk anymore.

Annoyed with her casual attitude, he said, “Just how much effort His Majesty spent on pulling you out from that house, that…”

Not even looking at him, she rose from her chair and walked by him, saying, “He didn’t have to do that. I told you I was doing fine in that house. But you really didn’t have to do that treason or whatever and trick people and get me out of there.”

He restrained himself from an angry retort, instead saying only, “Is that so?”

He turned to leave but stopped when she spoke again in a more conciliatory tone. “I am…I’m sorry about that.” He turned to look at her, and she went on, “When Prince Kyeong Chang was poisoned I couldn’t do anything about it. I’m sorry that I had to leave it to you to end his suffering with your own hands. For that, I am sorry. And last time, in front of the door to Heaven, for stabbing you…I’m sorry about that, too. But regardless, thank you for being alive. You are abused and pestered daily in safeguarding me. I am aware of that as well. I regard it with true gratitude.” Young absorbed all this, his expressive eyes changing from irritation to a softer gaze as she spoke. Because what she had to say next was so hard for her, she didn’t look at him as she spoke, so she hadn’t seen his soft gaze turn into longing.

Instead, with a determined expression she sat down at her table and placed her large blue purse on it, almost as a shield between her and Young. Seeing this, Young sat down across from her and asked, “What is it?”

She told him, “Now, I will take care of it.”

“Take care of what?”

“I think I know how to deal with Prince of the Court from Deokseong now. I put it to the test earlier today and it seems to work.” Seeing his skeptical look she added, “That person wants something from me, you see. With that, if I can deal with him, I might get that book back.”

Concerned, he asked, “What is it? What does he want?”

She looked at him as from a distance, saying, “You needn’t know. I will see to it.”

But he insisted, “ ** _I said_** , what is it?”

“I know history. He wants information about the future. So…”

“You agreed to tell him that? To that person?”

“I will just act like I’m telling him. What he wants to hear, I can just make it up. How would he know whether it’s true or not?”

He shook his head and sighed in exasperation. “Imja, it seems you are not well aware just what kind of a man Prince of the Court from Deokseong is…”

But she spoke up to stop him from saying more. “What I mean is, I don’t want you to take care of me anymore. I will figure it out myself and find my way back to my world.” She stood up. “I am just sending you greetings in case we don’t meet again.” He hadn’t expected this, and his face froze in a stony expression.

She said softly, “Thank you for everything, and I’m sorry.” He looked up at her as she added, “And if you can help it, don’t fight. And don’t get hurt. When it’s time to eat, eat some.” He continued staring at her until she broke eye contact with him and bowed. He sat there for a moment, realizing he’d just been dismissed. Angry and hurt, he glanced down and away momentarily to control himself. Then he stood up and left her apartment without a backward glance.

However, no matter what she thought, he didn’t feel his obligation to protect her had ended. On his way out, he grabbed Deok-man by the scruff of the neck and growled, “If you let that person go out again, I will make you pay.”

“Understood, Sir.”

Eun-soo sat down again, sighing with conflicting thoughts and emotions as she looked out her window, her eyes following Young as he walked away. She was attracted to the tall, comely warrior, but there was no way they could be together and she didn’t want him to continue risking himself for her. He was so stubborn that the only way she could think of to get him to back off was to push him away, telling him she didn’t need him anymore. And truth to tell, she was still angry at his manipulation of her in the court. Lastly, she wanted to be in charge of her own fate instead of a pawn tossed back and forth between the King and Ki Chul.

Young had just left Eun-soo’s quarters and was walking down a nearby corridor when he heard a slight noise above him. He stopped to listen. He took a few more steps and stopped again to listen. Eum-ja, who was on the roof, stopped moving as soon as he heard someone below him. He had listened in on the High Doctor’s conversation with his extraordinarily sensitive hearing. But Eum-ja needed to be extremely careful about being seen. With his long white hair, he’d be immediately identified if he was spotted. After a few minutes Young walked on, having heard nothing more.

A little later, Dae-man had finally found Choon-sik and gave him the scroll and the General’s instructions. Distracted by some gaps in their defense of the palace, particularly the rooftops, he Choon-sik put the scroll in a side pocket. He chastised Dol-bae about the gaps, who said he’d get right on it. As Choon-sik walked away, the warrior maiden who was in the pay of Ki Chul walked toward him and deliberately bumped into him. As they collided, she reached into his pocket and snatched the scroll, then hid it in her skirts. They bowed to each other in apology, then continued on their separate ways. She, of course, hurried to put the scroll in Ki Chul’s hands as soon as she could leave the palace.

That evening Ki Chul was given two pieces of important information and began to plan accordingly. First, he reviewed the scroll with the list of names of potential advisors. Then he heard from Eum-ja that the High Doctor intended to tell Ki Chul whatever she wanted about the future, since he wouldn’t know what was true and what was false. Eum-ja also told him about the High Doctor saving a boy by operating on him, concluding that she indeed was a skilled doctor. Hwa Su-in commented that the High Doctor, the General, and the King and Queen were all playing with them. She suggested that perhaps he should give up on his pursuit of the door to heaven before they all became a laughingstock. But that wasn’t Ki Chul’s intention. He decided that if they were playing with him, the people whose names were on the scroll would be the first ones to pay the price for it.

Young continued to worry about Eun-soo’s plans and decided to consult with his aunt, Lady Choi. He told her about the High Doctor’s knowledge of the future and what she proposed telling Ki Chul about it.

Lady Choi said, “So she’s a fortune teller?”

“It’s not foretelling. There’s a register of some sort in Heaven. Though that’s not the important point. I mean, what do you think will happen if Prince of the Court from Deokseong really believes her?”

“Ki Chul is like a child who likes new toys. If he thinks of the High Doctor as his new toy, he will first play with it.”

“But he didn’t lock her up again, he let her go. That means he respects the High Doctor to some degree. He might not hurt her.”

But she disagreed. “You don’t know what a toy is? A toy is something that once you play with it and get tired of it, you throw it away, or you tear it apart or break it.”

Skeptical, he told her, “Aunt, you always exaggerate.”

In order for him to understand the depth of the danger to Eun-soo, Lady Choi told him the story of Geumseon, a famous artist. Geumseon’s paintings had been extraordinary, said to be so realistic that a butterfly landed on one of the flowers he’d painted. Ki Chul was smitten by him, and even bought him a house and a ship. But then he commissioned a painting of himself by the artist. Geumseon painted him but also included a poisonous snake in the picture. Rageful, Ki Chul cut off the artist’s hands, dug out his eyes and threw him into the street. The artist crawled around but was unable to die until the next night. No one would help him, afraid of incurring Ki Chul’s wrath themselves.

Young heard this story with the gravity it deserved. After a pause, he asked, “A toy. How can it live?”

“It needs to do what it’s told. It needs to please well, so he will love it and be fond of it for a longer time.”

Knowing Eun-soo, Young told his aunt he didn’t think that would work. She generally didn’t do things to please others. He'd had a fair amount of direct experience with that. His aunt agreed, saying that was how it looked to her, too. Then he said that perhaps he should have her flee. But they both knew that Ki Chul’s power and reach was very broad, even extending into Yuan.

She saw how concerned he was and asked him, “Are you thinking you’ll take her yourself and run? But for that, haven’t you stirred up too many troubles here? Can you handle it?”

He sighed and looked up at the sky, thinking, not able to answer his aunt right away. It was a conundrum, and something that he’d need to carefully consider. How could he safeguard Eun-soo in spite of herself?


	20. Episode 10, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King meets the Suribang leaders. The doctor is shocked to discover the identity of a young boy who she has cured. The list of potential advisors is stolen and several of them are killed in front of the Doctor.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital City of Goryeo**

Suribang peddlers sold many herbal and other types of medicinal remedies on the streets of the city. Some of them also put on shows that garnered attention and earned coins from appreciative audiences. On this particular day, for example, one of the Suribang peddlers was hawking “real gold serpent pills.” Elsewhere on the streets the Suribang swordsman-dancer and Ji Hul, the young archer, were putting on a show. The swordsman threw an apple into the air and Ji Hul shot it. On its way down the swordsman sliced at it and then caught it. Pulling out the arrow, the apple fell into several wedges in his hand, eliciting “ _oohs_ ” and “ _aahs_ ” from their audience, resulting in more coins for the Suribang.

Suddenly a troop of Woodalchi arrived and began seeking out Suribang vendors, smashing their goods and beating or arresting those they found. This was not the type of task the Woodalchi normally did; nevertheless, they carried on with harassing the Suribang. Ji Ho saw the commotion and ran to give word to others that there was an apparent crackdown aimed at their group. The commotion eventually reached the swordsman and Ji Hul, and they quickly hid from the guards.

Shortly after the crackdown on the Suribang, Young sat at a table at the Suribang headquarters, drinking wine. Dae-man sat on the floor beside him, looking nervously all about. No one else was there. Young told him to stop being so anxious and asked him if he still didn’t drink. Dae-man said, “Someone dies whenever I drink.”

“Even if you only drink one or two cups, you can’t control it?”

“I can’t. But there…” He’d seen movement on the stairs.

Young confirmed, “I know,” and continued drinking from his cup.

Dae-man started to get up, ready to defend them, but Young pulled him back down from behind. An arrow whizzed by them as he did so. Young continued to look calm and focused on his drink, not even looking at Ji Hul, who had shot the arrow. Then Ji Ho and the swordsman-dancer appeared with their weapons in hand. They looked very serious but didn’t attack. At last his pledged aunt and uncle showed up and sat down across the table from him. They were hopping mad and began an angry banter directed at Young.

His pledged uncle said, “I knew you were an ass early on, but I didn’t know you were this filthy of a dog bastard.”

Young calmly acknowledged, “Pledged Uncle.”

Then his aunt said to his uncle, “Why blame the dog for this? Why are you always talking about dogs?”

“Then what do I call him?”

She raised an eyebrow and said, “A lackey.” That was much more serious thing to call Young, but he remained calm, gazing at them as they spoke and taking an occasional sip of wine.

Picking up on his sister’s cue, his pledged uncle asked him, “You became the King’s lackey and you betrayed us? How much did they pay you for your Pledged Uncle and Pledged Siblings?”

She added, “He wasn’t paid for it. Young doesn’t even know how to use money.”

“Fine, then why would he lose his mind like this?”

Turning to Young, she asked directly, “So why are you like this? You came after our boys.” She stood up and slammed her hand on the table. “You make a mess, snatch their stuff and beat them?!”

Her brother wondered, “Hey, did your king tell you to do that, to beat us up until we become his doggies?”

Young finally had his opening. He told them, “Ask him yourself.” And he stood up.

They looked up at him, stunned, his uncle exclaiming, “ _What_?!”

A dark cloaked figure came up the stairs, preceded by stealthy Woodalchi who took the other Suribang by surprise and kept them from using their weapons. The figure approached the table as Young stood to one side and bowed to him. He sat down, the brilliant red interior lining of the black cloak flashing into view as he did so, and then removed his hood. 

Young introduced him to his pledged aunt and uncle, “This is His Majesty, the King.” His aunt knelt beside her bench. The uncle hesitated until he noticed the King staring at him, then he did the same, kneeling beside the bench on which he’d been sitting. They both bowed their heads.

The King told them, “On the outside, a medicine-peddling gang, but in fact, the Suribang, who have all of Goryeo’s information in their grasp. You two are the Manbo siblings?” The brother nodded. For once, neither had anything to say. The King continued, “You wouldn’t come even if I summoned you. And you’ll hide even deeper if I try to come to you. So I created a meeting like this.” He ended with a smile. He picked up the wine jug on the table and asked them, “Would you receive a cup from me?” The uncle held out a cup in a trembling hand.

That same evening, Eun-soo was in her quarters talking with Dr. Jang. She wanted his help in figuring out what information would be useful to Ki Chul but would be unlikely to change history. She paced as she thought aloud. “The record of Heaven is like this. Goryeo will continue to develop and become Korea. The whole world will call us Koreans. By then, the world will have many, many nations.” She stopped and, seeing a glazed look in his eyes, asked Dr. Jang, “Perhaps this isn’t too interesting?” He agreed that it wasn’t. “Okay, no history. Then what do I use? Teach him some science and technology? Yes, how about this? Electricity. No, that’s too big of a leap. What is needed in Goryeo? Gunpowder...Gun...No, no weapons. Oh, waterworks and a sewer system, how about that? This is very important to the health of the people, too. While we’re at it, a flushing toilet. That’s something I really need, actually.” She sighed, reminded of modern conveniences, and sat down on a step.

Dr. Jang looked a little worried and asked, “So you’ll give him knowledge in exchange for your book?”

“Yes, looking at the numbers and coordinates in that book…might help me go back to my world.”

“But are you sure it will?”

“No, I don’t know. That’s why I need to find out.”

“High Doctor. I think Choi Young is right. Prince of the Court from Deokseong is ruthless.”

But she remained heedless of the warning. “I’ll be fine. I lived in Gangnam. Men more ruthless than him can be found on its streets. They smile on the outside, but inside they’re frightening.”

“Ruthless men are in the Heaven nation?”

“Actually…Where I used to live isn’t Heaven. I did tell Choi Young this once, though I don’t think he listened to me. Where I used to live…I think I come from the future.”

While Eun-soo was speaking with Dr. Jang, Eum-ja sat on a stone outside her quarters, as though he was just resting. But he was listening to her conversation by using his sensitive hearing. Deok-man spotted him as he was patrolling the vicinity. Eum-ja was listening intently with his head bowed and eyes closed, so didn’t see the other man approach. Deok-man got very close to him and slapped his hands together, hard. Eum-ja cried out in pain and dropped his flute on the ground. Deok-man threatened him, but Eum-ja's ears were hurting and he didn’t want to draw more attention to himself. He picked up his flute and walked away as Deok-man taunted him.

While Eun-soo talked with Dr. Jang, the King’s meeting with the Suribang siblings continued. The King spoke to them kindly, telling them that he wanted them and their skills, and finally asked, “So what do you two think?”

As they crouched before the King, the brother asked his sister in a low voice, “What should I say?”

“Say that the King’s favors are immeasurable for coming to this humble place. And then we’ll leave right away.” They started to get up to leave.

Seeing that his pledged aunt and uncle were still reluctant, Young said to the King, but really for the Suribang’s ears, “Your Majesty, for a gang as devious as this…you either have to make them your people or get rid of them.” His pledged aunt and uncle glared at him, but he continued, “If we lose them here, it will be difficult to find them again. So please make the decision now. These people…will you take them in or will you get rid of them?”

His pledged uncle cried, “Jeez, you scum, Choi Young!”

But Young ignored him, saying, “Your Majesty, please cast down your order.” The gravity of their situation became clear to them. Young was a hardened warrior and loyal to the King. He and his men would kill them if ordered, pledged relatives or not. It might grieve him to do it, but that wouldn’t stop him. As for Young, he sincerely hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

The King addressed Young’s pledged uncle, “So, Manbo, what should I do? As for me, I plan to choose one of two options here for the path of a King. Should I choose the easy way and cover the land with some blood? Or should I choose a decent way, even if it takes longer? I will decide here and now depending on your answer. So, what shall I do?”

The King’s manner and his statements went a long way toward convincing them that he might actually be a different kind of king. Eventually they agreed to furnish information and other assistance as needed, and he agreed to grant certain trading advantages to them. They weren’t aware that Hwa Su-in was observing all this from a nearby building, although she didn’t have the special hearing that Eum-ja had.

The next day Young came upon Dae-man and Choon-sik talking together and looking worried. The roster Young had given to Dae-man had disappeared. Choon-sik acknowledged that he had received it, but he no longer possessed it. Where it had gone was a mystery. Then Dol-bae came with the news that Eum-ja was hanging around the High Doctor. Concerned, Young asked where the High Doctor was and quickly made his way there.

Eun-soo was in the Queen’s chambers, examining her healing incision while the King looked on. The Queen said that she understood that the High Doctor had saved another person. Eun-soo smiled and replied that it had been a simple operation. The King commented, “Wasn’t it the son of the Sang Seon precinct officer? He came to visit Gae Kyeong with his father, so if he had lost his life here, I would have been put in a very difficult position.”

Eun-soo said, “So he’s the son of a powerful man.”

Lady Choi spoke up, “His name is Yi Seong Gye, the second son of an Executive Military officer.”

As she heard the young man's name, Eun-soo froze. After a moment she asked, “What did you say his name was?”

“Yi Seong Gye.”

Eu-soo couldn’t believe it; the shocks just kept coming. She shook her head, muttering, “Impossible. Can’t be. Can’t be.” When they asked her what was wrong, she said, “It couldn’t be that Yi Seong Gye who is in the history books...” With dawning realization that she was helping bring about the history she knew, she walked up to Dr. Jang, asking, “If it hadn’t been for me…would the Queen have passed away?”

“Probably so. Her injury was quite serious.”

“If I hadn’t gone to Ganghwa Island, Prince Kyeong Chung wouldn’t have died by poison, right? And if I hadn’t treated that child, would he have died? That child…if he’s really the Yi Seong Gye I know…” She muttered to herself, “What is all this?!”

The King asked her, “Is he someone you know, the child who is the son of the executive officer?”

With wide eyes she told him, “That child will…later and later on…House of Yi, Joseon Dynasty…OH!” She realized what she was saying and clapped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from saying more.

Young arrived just then and said, “Your Majesty, it’s Choi Young. May I escort the High Doctor out for a moment?” Given permission, he took Eun-soo by the wrist and took her outside, disregarding her protests.

Once they were alone, he began to tell her to stop talking about the future. But she interrupted him, her discovery of who her patient was caused the words to pour out like water from a sieve. “I’ve tried to be so careful. But then I did another surgery. Do you know who I just saved?” He kept trying to stop her, every word put her in more danger, but she was too upset to listen. With a pained look she continued, “That child…when he grows up, do you know what he will do? I saved the person _**who will kill you**!_” He looked at her, stunned. She continued, ready to cry with confusion and frustration, “Why did I have to do that?! Why did I have to come here?!”

But Young had been keeping an ear out himself while they talked, and thought he heard movement on the roof. He called for some of his men and told them to protect her. Then he went searching for Eum-ja, certain that it was him on the roof, listening to all they had said. It was indeed Eum-ja, but he managed to escape, running along a parapet and jumping over a wall. Young just missed seeing him and finally gave up, gritting his teeth in frustration.

When Eum-ja returned to Ki Chul’s house and reported all that the High Doctor had said, he was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He took out the notebook and held it out, staring at it, saying, “It was true! That woman is for real. Hwata’s relic, the gate to Heaven… a person from Heaven… writing of Heaven… world of Heaven… they are all real!”

But Yang-sa urged caution. “If that woman won’t tell us the truth about the future, it’s useless.”

Ki Chul agreed. “Yes, that’s still a problem. But we can solve it. Simply. Easily.” He smiled as he said, “I am too anxious right now. So much to do and so much to have.” Then he turned serious, thinking of his ailment, “But there’s so little time.”

While Ki Chul had been speaking, Hwa Su-in looked over at Eum-ja and noticed blood on his ear from when Deok-man had clapped his hands right next to it. Having super-sensitive hearing was all well and good, but it was easily shocked or damaged. She took him aside and swabbed the blood off his ear and neck, acknowledging that his ears were 12 times more sensitive than other people’s. While she worked, she scolded him for risking his hearing, telling him he could just lie to Ki Chul. Then she asked him if he had seen Young, and if the General was still hanging around the High Doctor.

Eum-ja was disappointed and annoyed at her question. He not only loved her as a Pledged Sister, he was also attracted to her as a woman. But she was forever dallying with other men. She chided, “Don’t be angry. Choi Young, that man, is just a plaything among many of many. But my Pledged Brother…” He looked down, embarrassed. She smiled and touched his cheek with her gloved hand, toying with him as well. Then she walked away, still smiling. He looked up to see her retreating back.

After her abbreviated talk with Young, Eun-soo returned to the medical office, deciding to check on the young’s man’s recovery as well as to verify his identity for herself. He was awake, and she asked him how he was doing, and did the surgery area hurt? He smiled and told her the pain was bearable and asked her if she was the High Doctor from heaven. She replied, “That’s what they call me.”

“I was about to die, but you saved me, is what I heard.” His eyes lit up with youthful enthusiasm. He also had a bit of a crush on the beautiful doctor. “My father will be here soon and will reward you greatly. He’s on an urgent task right now so he can’t be here. Soon.”

“Your name is…?”

“My name is Yi Seong Gye.” Now Eun-soo was certain. Many years later, this young man would end the Goryeo dynasty and establish a new Josean dynasty in Korea. In the process he would have Young executed. Even though Young would be an old man by that time, it still bothered her to know that she had saved the life of the man who would kill him. It also hurt her head to even consider what that meant. Was she changing history from what it should have been? Or was she an integral part of the history that was meant to be?

Young and Eun-soo each went about their business. He went on patrol, checking on the deployment of his Woodalchi around the palace compound. Still concerned about Eun-soo’s safety, Young sent Dae-man to check on her at the Herbal House. Then Dol-bae came, bringing the news that Ki Chul had arrived at the palace to meet with the King. Young wondered what he had in mind and decided to investigate. He changed into his court armor and made his way to the throne room.

Eun-soo returned to her quarters, leaving Deok-man outside to guard the entrance. Entering, she was surprised to hear a voice greet her with, “Hello!” She found Hwa Su-in sitting on her bed. Deo-ki was sitting next her, tied up and gagged. The pledged sister of Ki Chul smiled and spoke pleasantly to her. “I came to take you. Let’s go for a stroll together.”

But Eun-soo didn’t want to go anywhere with her. She only indicated Deo-ki and said, “Let go of her.” While she spoke, though, the other woman was removing her glove, freeing the hand that could burn whatever it touched. She threatened to kill Deo-ki. To save Deo-ki, Eun-soo quickly agreed to go with Hwa Su-in. In order to leave, though, she’d need to distract her guard, Deok-man. She went outside and told him to go into her room, that Deo-ki was carrying something heavy and needed help. Then she left. He readily agreed, briefly wondering where the High Doctor was going. Entering the room, he found Deo-ki on the bed, still tied up. Hwa Su-in had already left.

Several more things happened in quick succession. At about the same time that Eun-soo left with Hwa Su-in, Dr. Jang noticed that his young appendicitis patient had disappeared. He looked all around the office, but he was nowhere to be found. Deok-man was frantically looking for the High Doctor, knowing that he’d been tricked. Lastly, Young entered the throne room and took a protective stance in front of the King. Other Woodalchi were there as well as the King’s primary attendant. They all faced Ki Chul, who stood before the King.

Ki Chul sneered, “So do we have all the ones who are to guard Your Majesty here? Is this it?” Shrugging his shoulders, he asked, “There’s no more?”

The King told him, “You said you had urgent words to tell me. Speak.”

“I heard Your Majesty is gathering people, intellectuals and very talented men. It’s very good thinking. Power. The first thing you need in order to have power is to have people.” Ki Chul's expression grew snide, “But your subject began to think…That I couldn’t just leave you to have everything so easily.”

“Why not? Do you plan to go into a power fight with me?”

“I would rather not fight. So I will set things straight before a fight erupts.” He pulled out the missing scroll with the potential advisors’ names on it. He gave it to Do-chi, who took it to the King. Young angrily glanced sideways at Choon-sik, who in turn looked extremely embarrassed. At last they knew what had happened to the original scroll.

There was much more to come. Once the King had opened the scroll and was looking at the names he’d marked, Ki Chul continued, “Your Majesty, I am precisely Your Majesty’s person. I don’t understand why you would need anyone else but me.” Feigning embarrassment, he added, I have only one flaw. I am very jealous, so...”

“So?”

Ki Chul's expression grew serious, announcing, “I dislike those on the roster. I don’t want to keep them living.” 

As soon as those words were out of his mouth, Young drew his sword, stepped forward and swung the blade, stopping only at the skin of Ki Chul’s neck. He told Ki Chul, “You have dared to be impertinent in front of His Majesty the King. According to the law, I can have him killed right now, my King.” Ki Chul didn’t move a muscle but looked to the King.

The King rose from his throne and took a few steps toward Ki Chul. “Prince of the Court from Deokseong, he can slay you on my orders. You must have expected this when you came here alone. You must be willing to risk your life when you utter such imprudent things in front of me.”

Ki Chul chuckled again, “I wouldn’t be so reckless without taking some measures.”

“Measures?”

“The first one is in the Queen’s dwelling.” The King’s eyes grew wide. Ki Chul added, “The second one is with the High Doctor,” and looked at Young. At that, Young glanced at the back of the room, where Deok-man and Dae-man had just come to report to him with shameful faces that they’d lost track of her. Young gritted his teeth in anger and frustration and glared at Ki Chul. He addressed the King while still holding his sword to Ki Chul’s throat. “Your Majesty, we can kill him here and figure out our next move afterward.”

But Ki Chul spoke up, “That’s what the King does, decide who to throw away and who to take. Who to sacrifice, who to save. You constantly make judgments all the time.”

Young had not taken his eyes or sword away from Ki Chul, and was still waiting for an answer. He reminded the King with, “Your Majesty.”

Consumed with anxiety for the two women, the King told Young, “First, put away the sword.” Very reluctantly, Young did so while still glaring at Ki Chul. He sheathed his sword and stepped back to continue guarding

Confident that the King wouldn’t hurt him, Ki Chul was smug as he told him, “That was a wise decision.”

The King angrily responded, “I am getting tired of your machinations. What is it that you want?”

“Nothing, Your Majesty. I want you to do nothing.”

The King laughed in disbelief. “You dare to tell me to become your puppet king?!”

“No, My King. I am asking you to protect your people. Those on that roster are Your Majesty’s people, right? If you give up, they live.”

Finding it hard to believe what he was hearing, the King replied, “ _What?!_ ”

In the background, Young quietly asked Do-chi to give the roster to some of his men. He motioned to them, and they immediately left to check on the safety of those marked on it.

But Ki Chul’s plan to bring both the High Doctor and the King to heel had already begun. Hwa Su-in and Eun-soo had left the palace for their “stroll”, with Hwa Su-in commenting on the lovely weather, “It’s fresh and nice to ride a horse, or to kill someone.”

Eum-ja met them on horseback with two other horses. When Eun-soo protested that she didn’t like riding, Hwa Su-in’s only answer was to point to a wagon coming by that held the boy on whom she had operated. He was in the same cage that had carried Young back to the capital. He was clearly in pain from being jostled by the cart and called out, “High Doctor!” but Eum-ja prevented her from going to him. The accompanying guards pulled a black curtain down over the bars of the cage so others wouldn’t see what it contained. Eun-soo could only watch as the wagon passed by.

Aghast, Eun-soo turned to the pledged siblings and cried, “What is all this?!”

Hwa Su-in replied, “A doctor hates to see a patient die, don’t they? That’s why we captured him.” She smiled at at the other woman, then seeing her reaction, told her pledged sibling, “Look, she’s mad.”

And indeed, Eun-soo was furious. “If you have something to say, say it to me. That boy has nothing to do with this. And he can’t be moved around like that…”

Hwa Su-in interrupted with, “You just need to come with us and do something. If you become difficult, that child will die. That’s it.”

“How can you kill someone that easily? You guys…Just how…”

“It’s easy to kill someone. That’s the easiest thing for me,” said Hwa Su-in matter-of-factly.

Eum-ja, who had stayed quiet during this exchange, told Eun-soo, “This way.” She realized she had no choice but to go with them.

The three of them rode to a house and stopped there. Hwa Su-in told her, “This is the first house.” She read a name from a list she held. The doors were open to a courtyard, and they saw a man coming toward them. She suggested to Eum-ja, “Maybe that’s him?”

Eum-ja slipped down from his horse and walked toward the man. As he neared him, in one continuous motion Eum-ja pulled his sword from its scabbard and swung it across the man’s torso and then across his neck. Blood spurted as the man fell to the ground, dead. A brilliant scholar who could have given wise counsel to the King was no more. Eum-ja matter-of-factly wiped the blood from his sword onto the man’s clothing, replaced it in its scabbard, then took out a folded slip of paper and placed it in the victim’s mouth. He returned to the two women, looking as if he had just taken a pleasant stroll. Eun-soo’s eyes were wide with horror. She was shocked not only by the murder, but by their utterly callous attitude.

While the pledged siblings were tracking down and killing potential advisors, Ki Chul was describing what was happening to the King. “The first person on the roster, from what I hear, met a thief in broad daylight and his life ended.”

The King, aghast, took a step forward and stared at him. He asked, “Did you kill him?”

Ki Chul calmly continued, “An hour later, the second on that list was also attacked.” And indeed, Eum-ja had already killed a second man while the two women watched. Eun-soo cried out, then closed her eyes and said a brief prayer to whatever god might be listening. But Ki Chul still wasn’t done. “And another hour afterwards, …”

The King angrily shouted, “So…So what?!”

The Prince of the Court calmly asked him, “Don’t you know what you should do?”

The King was so livid he was speechless and simply stared at Ki Chul. Young stepped up to King and said very quietly, “I will go. Until then, please make some time. May I?”

The King struggled to get himself under control, and then told his General, “Go.”

Young told him, again very quietly, “Yes, Your Highness.” He bowed and left.

Meanwhile, the Woodalchi sent out by Young had found the first man, his family wailing in grief over his body. They took the paper out of his mouth and unfolded it. It read, “If you know the fault, fix it.”

Later in the afternoon, after witnessing more brutal murders, Eun-soo leaned against a tree and vomited as Hwa Su-in read the next name on the list. Eum-ja went over to Eun-soo and offered her a small cloth to wipe her mouth, but she slapped it to the ground, not wanting anything from either of them. She staggered over to a flat rock and sat with her head hanging down. Hwa Su-in said to her in a cheery voice, “Are you alright? We need to head over to the next house, so put an end to it and get up now. Before the sun sets, we still have a lot of houses to go to.” Eun-soo didn’t say anything; she was panting from vomiting and beyond horrified at having to watch such wanton taking of life. Hwa Su-in turned to her pledged brother and asked him, “What do you think? I think she now understands us…just how bad we are…and what will happen if she plays with us.

Eum-ja replied, “Then should we go directly to the next stage?”

“Should we?” Hwa Su-in walked over to Eun-soo and smiled at her condescendingly. “You choose the next stage, High Doctor. Choose one from the three. First, the Queen. Second, Royal Doctor Jang. The third is…” and she knelt down to look at Eun-soo directly, “Woodalchi Choi Young. Which one of them is the dearest to you? That person will be the next one. Who will it be?” Eun-soo just looked at her while a tear slowly made its way down her face.


	21. Episode 11, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The doctor is rescued by the Woodalchi and Choi Young. The King defies Ki Chul. The doctor becomes convinced she needs to leave. Ki Chul summons a group of assassins.

**Gae Kyeong and Goryeo Countryside**

While the King continued to talk with Ki Chul, Young left the throne room and immediately told one of his men to go to Lady Choi and tell her to guard the Queen closely. Then he had someone relay the information about the young man imprisoned in the wagon to the Suribang. The swordsman-dancer and Ji Hul began searching, asking around for who might have seen a black wagon pass by. Following a lead, they sent someone to tell the General and tracked the wagon down. Ji Hul was shooting arrows at those guarding the wagon even as Young came running. He knocked out the two remaining guards without even drawing his sword, instead using his scabbard to deliver blows to the stomach, chest and head. With the guards taken care of, he approached the wagon and drew back the black curtain. The young man was still very much alive, and Young hoped he might have information about Eun-soo. He asked him, “You know the High Doctor, right?” The young man, a bit awed by seeing the well-known Woodalchi General in full armor, nodded vigorously. Then he asked him, “Do you know which way she went? Did you see?” The young man shook his head back and forth just as vigorously. But others had been successful in tracking her. Dae-man had located the High Doctor not too far away, and Woodalchi were already on their way. He whistled to Young from a rooftop, and the General took off again, leaving one of the Suribang warriors to return the young man to the clinic.

Eun-soo had just seen several men brutally murdered by Eum-ja, and then Hwa-su-in had asked her to choose one of the three people she most cared about: The Queen, Dr. Jang, or Choi Young. She hadn’t answered, in shock and sick to her stomach. Hwa-su-in was getting impatient, saying, “This is why coaxing is irritating.” Looking at Eum-ja, she asked, “Can’t I just kill them all?” Then she turned back to Eun-soo. “I’ll ask you one last time. If you don’t answer…”

“So? If I choose one of the three, what are you going to do?”

The other woman smiled at her. “I was ordered to kill the one dearest to you. To tame you until you are properly obedient.”

“Tame me?”

“Yes, that’s our pledged brother’s method. If he desires someone, he first gets rid of their beloved, until that person has nowhere else to go except for pledged brother.”

As she talked, Eun-soo was putting some things together in her head. “By chance did he…”

“By chance did he what?”

“Give poison to Prince Kyeong Chung?”

“Of course he did. Though it was Choi Young who made him drink it.” At Eun-soo’s look, she added, “You didn’t know? Come on, you knew.” Eun-soo knew that wasn’t true. Young would never have forced the Prince to drink poison, but she was too overwhelmed with current issues to argue. Hwa-su-in blithely went on, “So what should we do? Who should I kill first? Just hurry and give me an answer, whoever it is.”

Eun-soo gritted her teeth in determination and stood up. She told both of them, “Do as you please.”

Surprised, Hwa-su-in wasn’t sure she heard her correctly. “What?”

“I won’t answer! So you people do as you please.” She turned to leave, but Eum-ja blocked her way with his flute.

Hwa-su-in called after her, “What about your patient we captured? We’ll have to kill him if you act like this.”

Without moving, Eun-soo called their bluff. “Do that then.” The other two looked at each other; this wasn’t what they expected. Then the Doctor told Eum-ja, “Get out of my way! You people can’t kill me yet. I know that much. And other people besides me? Kill them or not. I don’t care.” Even when Eum-ja drew his sword and held it right in front of her neck, she didn’t stop. She took a step forward and Eum-ja withdrew his sword.

Hwa-su-in began to follow her, but Eum-ja held her back. His hearing had picked up the sound of boots running toward them, “Someone’s coming, two…three… five.”

Five Woodalchi came around the corner and approached the High Doctor, relieved to see her apparently unharmed. But she wasn’t unharmed; she was in shock and numb. She hardly looked at the soldiers and just kept walking. She passed by them and went around a corner. They faced the two pledged siblings. Eum-ja wondered aloud if they should let her go. Hwa-su-in was still puzzled by the High Doctor’s response. Was she really serious about not caring whether they killed others around her? Eum-ja told her they could find out whether that was really true. As the five Woodalchi drew their swords and started toward them, Eum-ja took out his flute and began to play.

Eun-soo stopped as soon as she heard the flute. Remembering when Eum-ja blew up a shelf full of pottery, she had a good idea of what would happen to those soldiers. The Woodalchi were already being disabled by Eum-ja’s sound attack. They fell to their knees in agony, clapping their hands to their ears. Eun-soo came running back and stood near the soldiers, yelling at Eum-ja, “Stop! I said to stop it!” But Eum-ja didn’t stop; he kept playing. Eun-soo started experiencing the same pain as the Woodalchi, falling to her knees. Fortunately the young Suribang archer had also arrived and shot an arrow at Eum-ja from a nearby roof. Eum-ja had to whirl and duck to avoid it and the sound stopped. The young archer quickly put another arrow in his bow, drew it back and held it pointed at Eum-ja to keep him from resuming his deadly music.

Just then Young and Dae-man arrived on the scene. He faced the pledged siblings as his men began to recover and stand up again. Seeing that Eum-ja was unlikely to start up again with an arrow pointed at him, he went to Eun-soo and kneeled in front of her. She was still holding her ears in pain. Without saying a word he gently pushed one of her hands away to look at her ear. It was bleeding, and he used his thumb and forefinger, and then the palm of his hand, to wipe most of the blood away. Then he stood to face the siblings. One of his men cried, “General, those things killed scholars and had High Doctor…”

But he held up his hand for silence and asked the murderous pledged siblings, “What are you going to do? Fight or back away?”

Hwa-su-in smiled and addressed Eun-soo, “What do we do? Well, I think I already know what I wanted to know.” Addressing Eun-soo she said, “That one beside you must be the first, right? He always comes to save you. Each time, without fail. We’ll meet again.” They both turned, mounted their horses, and left.

His men weren’t happy to let the two of them go, but Young told them that they had inner powers and were not ones they could handle. He turned back to Eun-soo and asked her if she was alright. At the same time he reached out to touch her ear again, to wipe more blood from it, but she blocked his hand and pushed his arm away. Without even looking at him, she turned and left. She was sick at heart that she had put him in even more danger from Ki Chul and his minions. The less she had to do with him or showed any feeling for him, the better. To him, though, her pushing his hand aside felt like another dismissal. With a sinking heart but with much else to do, he let her go. He told the other Woodalchi to escort the High Doctor to the Royal Medical Office and then go on standby there. He mounted one of their horses and quickly rode back to the palace, galloping past Eun-soo with only a quick glance. He looked very gallant on the horse, though, and her eyes followed him until he disappeared from view.

Meanwhile, the King was doing what he had promised, keeping Ki Chul occupied while Young checked on his claims about the scholars on the roster. He repeated, “What you want is for me to do nothing? Though I’ve become a king, I shouldn’t even play the role of a king?”

With a satisfied smile, Ki Chul replied, “Right now, do you know why you’re feeling cornered while I am so confident? It is because Your Majesty still holds too many lingering feelings. The biggest of those is your lingering desire to become a good king. A good king who is loved by his people.”

Incredulous, the King asked, “And that is what displeases you?”

“A king who cherishes his people…well, the people, they really don’t want such a thing.”

“They don’t want that?”

Growing annoyed, Ki Chul shouted, “The people! They are ones who are filled with discontent and gripe no matter what you do for them. So you trick them and suppress them. And you just need to feed them. But if you feed them too much, they’ll rebel. So feed them a suitable amount…not too much.”

Then Young returned, striding quickly up to the King. He bowed and told him, “The Queen is well in her chambers, and High Doctor has returned to the Royal Medical Office as well.”

The King asked him, “And the others? What’s happened to the personnel on the roster?”

“Five of them have lost their lives. Near their bodies, a message was left.” He turned to glare at Ki Chul while he spoke, “’Ji (know)…Gwa (fault)…Pil (must)…Ge (fix)…If you know your fault, you must fix it.’”

The King was shocked, “Five, you said?”

Ki Chul, smiling again, told him, “That much should be plenty of warning, not just for Gae Kyeong, but for the entire land of Goryeo, no?”

“So now, no one else will dare to stand on my side?”

The other man answered smugly, “Well, perhaps fewer.”

Defiant, the King told him, “In two weeks there will be a full moon and I will hold a full court session with additional advisors.” The smile on Ki Chul’s face faded as the King spoke. The King continued, “On that day, my scholars will advise me on kingly duties. Minister, you are invited to attend.”

Ki Chul was furious; how dare the King defy him! He started toward the King but Young stepped forward as well, ready to block his way. He said, “Your Majesty’s scholars, did you say?”

The King said, “In this Goryeo, there are ones who don’t succumb to a threat, who do not live just for bread, and who desire a good king. I will show them to you.”

Ki Chul’s rage overtook him. He held out one hand. Mist rose from it and it began to be covered with frost. He could freeze whatever he touched. He stepped toward the King. Young, who had been watching him closely during the conversation, stepped in front of him to block him. Ki Chul placed his hand on the General’s shoulder and exerted his power. Crackling could be heard in the room as the General’s leather armor started to freeze. Young put up a hand to push Ki Chul’s away, but the hand stayed where it was, burning its freezing power into him. His own inner powers were still damaged, and he didn’t know if he could defeat Ki Chul even at full strength. He tried gripping Ki Chul’s wrist to pull it away but still couldn’t move it; the freezing cold continued. But the General didn’t move away from Ki Chul; Young would die before leaving the King unprotected. The King looked on with alarm and Ki Chul kept his eyes on the King while slowly killing his General. Young kept trying to pull Ki Chul’s hand away from his shoulder with no success. Finally the General’s shoulders slumped as the freezing power expanded. He made one last desperate try to wrest Ki Chul’s hand away. Whether that worked or Ki Chul decided he’d shown enough of what he could do, both of their hands flew apart and the freezing stopped.

Ki Chul spoke to the King with gritted teeth, “I understand. This month’s full moon. I shall look forward to Your Majesty’s people.”

The King gave him a regal smile and dismissed him, “Until then.” Ki Chul bowed with a murderous look in his eyes, turned and left.

The King immediately stepped down from the dais and asked his General if he was alright. Young was still a little slumped, in pain and breathing heavily. But he told the King, “It’s nothing much. First, go to the Queen’s chambers.”

Young sent three Woodalchi with the King, and they rushed to her chambers. Entering, he found her sitting with Lady Choi, just about to sip from a cup of tea. The King slapped the cup out of her hand, took her by the wrist and pulled her up from her chair. At the two women’s questioning looks, he told them, “From now on, the Queen will be staying at my residence.” Then he addressed Lady Choi, “I will do this until all dangers here are completely gone.” He looked at the Queen as if to assure himself she was alright, took her by the hand, pulled her out of the room, and headed for his area of the palace. Lady Choi and the King’s retinue followed them. As they walked toward his quarters, the King anxiously informed the Queen that Ki Chul had come to see him and threatened her life. She told him she knew about it. The King stopped and turned to her and swallowed. He let go of her hand and spoke more softly, “So…” He wanted her to know she had a choice in the matter of whether she stayed with him or not.

But in an equally soft voice she told him, “I will stay with you…together.”

As they looked at each other, the King told her, “Alright.” Much later they would remember this as a precious moment between them. They began walking together, more slowly now. 

Lady Choi saw what had happened between the couple and noticed that Choon-sik was still walking alongside the Queen. She unceremoniously yanked him back, then held all the attendants back a little way in order to give the royal couple a little privacy. She told them all, “Slower, at a distance.” As the royal couple walked, a slight smile came to the King’s lips.

To all appearances, the General looked fine as he walked toward a less-used area of the palace. He came to a walled corner and took off his armor, then sat down on the ground. He pulled his tunic aside to look at his shoulder. The flesh had turned dark gray and extended almost to his neck. It felt like a burn, and it was quite painful. He sat there for awhile, just resting after his ordeal. He would heal himself with his inner power, but it would take time. Almost as painful as his shoulder was the memory of being pushed away by Eun-soo. Regardless, he still felt an obligation to her.

Back in her quarters near the herbal garden, Eun-soo remembered Hwa Su-in telling her that she’d been ordered to kill the one dearest to her, and then identifying Young as that one. And she remembered the caring look in his eyes and his gentle touch wiping blood away, so unexpected for a tough warrior. His hand had been rough with calluses from years of weapons use, but still tender, like a caress. She would have liked to lean her head into that hand, but instead she sighed and tried to put the memory behind her. To distract herself, she left her quarters for the clinic with Deok-man following her. Once she arrived, she checked on the Woodalchi who were receiving treatment from the sound attack; they seemed to be doing well. Then she heard voices from another room. It was the young appendicitis patient, Yi Seong Gye, talking with Young. She went there and stood near the door to the room, watching them.

The young lad seemed to have contracted a serious case of hero worship, saying, “I’m telling you the truth! Everyone says so. That the Woodalchi General is a great man. He can fight against 100 people by himself!”

Young smiled slightly and replied, “And you believed such a thing?”

“There are people who saw it in person, too. That by the General’s one stroke of the sword, two or three would be slain.”

Eun-soo recalled seeing him fight and knew him for an extraordinary warrior. She asked herself if thoughts of him would ever stop running through her mind.

Then the young man spied Young’s sword. “Oh, is that your sword? Is this that legendary sword?” He started to reach out to touch it.

Young pounded the scabbard on the floor, once, and said firmly, “Listen well.”

Taken aback, the lad respectfully said, “Yes.”

“First, do not covet another’s sword.”

The lad listened with wide eyes as his hero spoke, and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry.”

“Second, if there are 100 enemies waiting, run away.”

Puzzled, the boy responded, “What?”

With a smile Young reached out and pushed the boy’s forehead back as a friendly remonstrance, “If you can just slay the one enemy who’s behind those 100, why would you fight? Yes?”

The boy’s eyes lit up with understanding, “Yes, that one who’s behind them!”

Young stood up to go, spied Eun-soo, and paused, continuing to look at her. She turned away but didn’t move. He approached her and started to ask if she was alright, but she curtly told him she was fine. Without looking at him, she added, “I checked on your warriors. No one’s severely hurt. They are all fine.” He agreed that they seemed alright.

They were both very uncomfortable. He was pained by her coolness toward him, and she felt forced to push him away to keep from being attached to him and for his own safety. She turned to go, but he called her back. “Doctor,” he swallowed and requested, “Can we talk?” She reluctantly agreed and they walked outside. As they walked along a palace wall, Young picked up a pebble and threw it back over his shoulder, making Dol-bae duck. Deok-man pushed Dol-bae away from the two, back around the corner, since their General was clearly telling them not to follow.

Young tried to engage her. “It is that child that would kill me in the future, right? However, no matter how I look at him, he doesn’t seem like he could kill me.” She didn’t respond, not looking at him as they walked along. He stopped and turned to her, “I am thinking of making a request to His Majesty. For his permission to leave the palace for a while. If he grants it, I will escort you toward heaven’s door.”

Still without looking at him, she replied, “But you said even if we get there, there’s no guarantee that the door would be open.”

He acknowledged, “There isn’t.”

“You, Choi Young…. Right now, you have a ton of tasks you must complete for the King, right?”

“Yes.”

She finally turned to look at him. “But you want to keep your word?”

He told her, “If you stay here, it will be more and more dangerous for you. So…”

“Because I know about the future? Because of that, that man wants me?”

He looked directly at her and said, “And other people will also want you. So, it’s better for you to leave before more people know about you.”

“There’s one thing I’d like to know.”

“Ask me.”

“Last time, when I tried to run away from Ki Chul and I was about to fall off the slope, someone caught me. That was you, right?” He remembered catching her before she could fall down the slope and into the river far below. Once her feet were on the ground, he went behind a tree before she could see him; he didn’t want her to have to lie to Ki Chul. Lost in that memory of her, he hadn’t replied to her question, so she asked him again, “That was you, right? That day, if you thought it was dangerous for me to be in his company, you would’ve fought him then. In order to save me.”

He reluctantly replied, “Since I made the vow.”

“That you would protect me, that you would send me back?”

“Yes.”

“And if you were to fight with that man, could you win?”’

Having just had a reminder of Ki Chul’s strength and his weaker power, at least temporarily, he replied, “I’d lose.”

She continued pressing him, “Here, in this world, saying you’d lose means you’d die, right?”

He told her honestly, “If you lose during a fight, that will happen.”

His answer confirmed what she had been thinking. “I understand. I need time to think.”

She started to walk on, but he called to her, asking, “Do you not smile anymore?” His question was so unexpected she turned to look at him. He continued, “Is it because I’m here or have you lost your smile?” He was asking her to tell him what was wrong, but she couldn’t. Saying more would only make what she needed to do more difficult. Without answering, she turned and walked away from him. He looked after her, worried and sad.

After his meeting with the King, Ki Chul and his minions spent a good deal of time gathering and examining scroll after scroll to determine who were the important scholars of the realm who might come to court at the King’s invitation. While they worked, Hwa-su-in asked what Ki Chul was going to do about Choi Young, since he was the person designated as most dear to the High Doctor. But Ki Chul had no intention of killing him. “That guy Choi Young is worth more than two thousand palace guards.” Hwa-su-in reminded him that he couldn’t have the General. He hadn’t responded to their overtures and he appeared to be totally loyal to the King.

But her senior told her there was a way to have him very easily. “To have the King he’s under will do. Then he’d have no choice but to follow loyally. That is his weakness.”

Eventually Ki Chul had reached his limit with their search of scholars. It was impossible to know for certain who would serve the King, and wasteful to kill all of them as a preventive measure. He threw down the scroll he was holding and declared that any of them who came to the King’s upcoming court session would be killed. His brother warned him that the Woodalchi would be guarding the palace and likely guarding the scholars as well. Ki Chul told his brother that he was going to summon Chisal, a group of seven well-known assassins. They were expensive, but that wasn’t a problem for the Ki famiy. Yang-sa, though, thought they were very dangerous and could be hard to control. But Ki Chul was determined, and he had come to another decision. He told them, “The current young King, I’m going to have to switch him out. But before we make the switch, I will teach him his place very clearly.”

As he left the room, Hwa Su-in asked him, “What about the High Doctor? Drag her here or leave her be?”

He replied, “She is of much use. But she is a naive woman who doesn’t understand this land. Without the King or Choi Young, where else could she go? She’ll come crawling on her own.”

Young had returned to the palace and soon met with the King and the pompous Il-shin. Hearing of Ki Chul’s threats, Il-shin assured the King that, “Your Majesty will show him that you are a proper King.” Commenting on the King’s promise to hold a full court session with new advisors, Il-shin was delighted that the King had defied Ki Chul. He thought thought the Prince of the Court must be very astonished by the King’s courage. The King then turned to Young, reminding him that they had to gather scholars on the full moon, just two weeks away.

But Il-shin didn’t see any difficulty. “Your Majesty, many are ready to swear their allegiance to the King and waiting in their various hideouts. Further, Your Majesty has in your possession a sign you can show to them.”

“A sign?”

With a grin Il-shin pronounced, “You have the High Doctor, right?” He looked over at Young, but seeing his angry glare, cleared his throat and turned back to the King. “She healed the Queen and the Woodalchi General and knows the future. And that person is by Your Majesty’s side. I, your humble subject, have already spread the word far and wide. All the city and Goryeo will know soon.”

After the meeting, as the King was returning to his chambers with his guards and attendants, Young came up behind him. He called, “Your Majesty…”

The King knew why Young was there. He told him, “I am worried as well.”

Young continued, “If you display the High Doctor further…”

Annoyed, the King interrupted him, “I _know_ , I said! She will be in more danger. But what else can we do?”

But Young wouldn’t let go of it. He told the King, “Someone like Prince of the Court from Deokseong gathers and kills people. He seizes their hearts by menacing them. How is Your Majesty any different?”

Surprised to be confronted like this, the King turned to him and said, “You ask how I am any different? Are you saying I am just like him?”

Young argued, “Are you not? The heaven or the future, you spread those absurd words and you gather those who are lured by that, and claim you now have their hearts? You’re going to boast having won heaven’s heart, aren’t you?”

Knowing his General, the King replied, “If you can criticize your King without any reservation, you must at least have an alternative, right?”

Young told him, “I will gather them, Your Majesty’s people.”

“My people? How?”

“I just need to bring them to you without pawning the High Doctor, yes?”

The King knew what he wanted. “In exchange, I will send the High Doctor back quietly? Since that is a vow you made?”

The General said, “Yes.”

The King remained annoyed. “My first loyal subject. Without regard to place or time, you reproach _me_ , the King, loudly.”

Undeterred, Young asked him, “Why are you upset by what I’ve said? Compared to those I will be bringing to you, I will turn out to be a very meek subject. Does that intimidate you?”

“They’ll be more ill-mannered than you?”

“Will you not accept them?”

The King smiled slightly “Fine. Let’s have a look at their faces then.”

“Then I will bring them to you.” The King continued down the hall, but Young called to him again, “Then the High Doctor…”

The King shouted over his shoulder “...Will be sent back. I will do it!"

Young had just protected Eun-soo yet again, but in payment, he’d taken on another difficult task.

The next day, at the Royal Medical Office, Yi Seong Gye and his very grateful father brought a small box full of small silver ingots and set it on a table. The father sat down at the table with Dr. Jang and pushed the box across to him. Grinning widely, he said, “I should have come sooner, but my service duties were urgent. I’m finally here.”

Dr. Jang told him that he’d relay that to the High Doctor. The father had been hoping to meet her in person, and asked, “The High Doctor isn’t here right now?”

Dr. Jang told him that it was difficult to meet the High Doctor in person, but the son proudly spoke up and told his father, “But I did. I met her in person, Father. I thought to myself, ‘Indeed a heavenly fairy would be like her…’” His father laughed and said, “About her heavenly skills …I have heard of it here and there during my journey. I intend to tell others about the High Doctor, including the Yuan folks, too. They will be quite surprised and envious once they hear of it.” As Dr. Jang heard that, he realized that her fame would likely bring danger with it, just as Choi Young feared.

Meanwhile, in her quarters, Eun-soo was looking into a large brass mirror, recalling Young’s statement about her not smiling any longer. She tried giving herself a pep talk, and ended it by saying, “Yoo Eun Soo, Don’t worry, be happy!” She bent her arm, formed a fist and pulled down, saying “Fighting!” Her grin was half-hearted, but her short pep talk helped her move forward on her decision.

Later, Dr. Jang came into her room to find her sitting with Deok-man, writing down directions. Dr. Jang gently pulled the pen from her hand and asked, “Where are you going?” He thought he knew the answer.

Dismissing Deok-man, Dr. Jang sat down across from her. Eun-soo, sporting an ink smudge on her nose, looked up from the paper she’d been writing on. She asked him, “That pervert bastard called Prince of the Court from Deokseong, Ki Chul…If I go and ask him for my notebook, do you think he’d give it to me? He wouldn’t! So I’m just going to go to that place where the heaven door is and wait quietly. Well, it’s a door that opened once. Wouldn’t it open again at some point?” He told her to look at him and wiped the ink off her nose with a small cloth. She continued talking, “That’s why, you see…It’s pretty far to go all the way there, so I think I may need some travel expense. How much do you think I’ll need? I don’t really have a concept about money here.”

He smiled, knowing she’d have all the money she’d need and more in those silver ingots from the Yi family. He asked her, “Did you tell the Woodalchi General about it?” She paused and drew back. He continued, “Without telling him, you’re going to go on such a dangerous trip?”

She confirmed, “Yes, me. Can you give me a man’s outfit? In historical dramas, they all do that when they go on a long journey. Dress like a man and wear a bamboo hat, too.”

But Dr. Jang inquired, “You don’t feel secure here? The Woodalchi is guarding you, but that protection isn’t enough?”

Eun-soo’s face grew very serious. “What I fear most right now… is me. That I might, on this land, commit some act that will change the future. Because I don’t know that, I’m so scared. I don’t want to be responsible for history or politics. I hate that.”

During the next several days, while Eun-soo planned her journey to heaven’s door, the hired assassins made their way to Ki Chul’s mansion. On their journey they all wore black bamboo hats with black netting to shield their faces, and the people they passed gave them a wide berth. Once they arrived at their employer's mansion, two of them entered Ki Chul’s office without notice or knocking. Unsurprised, he said, “You came.”

But Yang-sa, standing next to Ki Chul, thought they were being impertinent to have entered that way. “How dare you come near the owner…” He stepped up and pushed them back, telling them, “If you have something to say…” One of the them stepped back all right, but only to draw his sword and swipe it precisely across Yang-sa’s forehead. He fell down in shock.

Ki Chul addressed them, “When and who to get rid of, I will let you know then and there. The payment, as before.” He shoved a bag full of money across a table to one of them. “And also, one of you will have to conduct surveillance on a woman, so that I will know her every step.”

They finished their brief conversation and the two assassins nodded, turned and left. Only then, when they had gone, did Yang-sa get up off the floor, putting a hand on the table to pull himself up. His carefully groomed hair bangs were gone. Only short tufts remained.


	22. Episode 11, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young recruits the scholars who will advise the King. The doctor leaves for the portal, but Young finds her on the road. Choi Young makes a plan to stop Ki Chul once and for all.

**Gae Kyeong and the Goryeo Countryside**

Walking along a quiet street in Gae Kyeong, Ji Ho, the Suribang spearman and Ji Hul, the archer, were taking Young to the house of a well-known scholar. True to his word, the General was beginning the search for new advisors to the King. He kept looking around to see if they had been followed, as well as to keep his bearings of where they were in the city. The two young men kept asking him for a practice fight. They had developed some new positions that they thought even he would have trouble fending off. But he had other things on his mind. Finally, Ji Hul pointed to a particular house, while Ji Ho kept after Young about a fight. “So let’s have a go, just best out of three. Then I really won’t pester you anymore.” When Young didn’t respond, he said angrily, “Are you seriously going to just ignore what I say?”

Young curtly asked, “Then what?”

The young man pouted, “Well, I’d feel offended.” Young just slapped his spear and started walking to the house. The two young men ground their teeth in frustration but followed him; maybe he’d relent at some time in the future. After all, he was the best fighter they’d ever seen. It was worth waiting for a practice duel with him.

Opening the outer doors, the three men entered to find an old woman sorting herbs in the courtyard. Further away, a rather stocky man of about 30 years old appeared to be sleeping on a small porch. Approaching the woman, Young asked her, “Is this the house of Teacher Ikjae? I came to see him.” She didn’t say anything, but she got to her feet, picked up a shallow basket and went over to the sleeping man. She hit him in the stomach with the basket to wake him up. He only groaned and tried to avoid her by turning over. One of the Suribang’s said, “It can’t be that person. He’s said to be Goryeo’s top scholar.” The other one said, “But scholars still sleep, don’t they?”

The old woman hit the sleeping man a second time, and he shouted, “What! What is it?” She pointed to the three men. As the man looked over at them, the General spoke, “I’m Choi Young, who is serving as the General of Woodalchi.” Unimpressed, the man turned over with his back to them. Young asked the Suribang, “Is this the right house?”

Ji Ho speculated, “I don’t think so. That man can’t be the one who passed the state examination with the highest scores. That couldn’t be him.” But Ji Hul assured the other two that this was the scholar’s house.

Young went over to the man and asked, “Are you indeed Teacher Ikjae?”

But the man only complained, “It’s too hot. Step aside, you’re blocking the wind.”

The Young said, “I have the King’s orders for you.”

“King’s orders my foot. Get out of here!”

The General had had enough of his insolence. He grabbed him by the front of his jacket, threw him off the porch and onto the ground, telling him, “Scholar Ikjae shall receive the King’s orders with respect!”

But the man only complained more loudly, “Ai, what is this?! What is that order that I have to get beaten to receive it? Is that something I can eat or wear? Okay, give it to me. Come on.” He held out his hand as if to receive something.

Young realized this could not be Teacher Ikjae, but had to be one of his students. He crouched down in front of him, sighed and said, “I have words for your teacher, Teacher.”

The man, whose name was Lee Saek, was indeed a student of the Elder Teacher. He felt a duty to protect him. So he sat up and said haughtily, “My teacher uses language different from hooligans. Even if I were to relate it, he wouldn’t understand it.”

Young told him, “So this is how a bookworm speaks. I know your master is hiding to protect his life. Go and tell him to contact me if he has the courage to meet me, His Majesty’s General.” For the first time, Lee Saek looked at Young with a serious expression on his face.

As he finished talking with the scholar, Young heard Dae-man frantically calling him. Young immediately left the house to see what was so urgent.

While Young had been searching for the scholar’s house, Dr. Jang was making his normal rounds at the clinic, observing patients and assuring himself that the clinic was operating well. Passing by a small table, he noticed that Eun-soo’s surgical instruments were laid out on a cloth. Normally she kept those tools with her. He went to her quarters, but she wasn’t there. The small treasure box he had given her from the Yi’s was there, but the silver that it had contained was gone. He saw Deo-ki passing by, and he asked her where the High Doctor had gone. She indicated that she had left, and that she had taken the silver with her.

And indeed, Eun-soo had already traveled to a smaller village and was reading her list of towns to pass through on her way to Heaven’s door. She was dressed as a man, her hair tied up in a bun, and wore a bamboo hat low over her face to help hide her feminine features. Her clothes, money and supplies for the journey were wrapped up in a sling made of a light pink-colored cloth that she carried over her shoulder. She stopped to ask directions to the next town, but the person she asked, a man carrying a big load of firewood on his back, didn’t answer her. She had tried to lower her voice, but it still sounded female, although perhaps in an alto range. Instead of answering her, all the man had done was try to look under her hat to see what this person looked like. She thought that perhaps he was from Yuan and didn’t understand her. She began walking along a dirt path in the direction she guessed was the correct one that would take her to the next town. It was a beautiful time of year, with bushes in bloom and trees and green grasses all around her as she walked.

Suddenly she stopped and stared in surprise. Partially hidden by a flowering bush to the side of the path stood Young, leaning against a tree with his hands on the hilt of his scabbard, as if he’d just been waiting for her all along. She tried to ignore him, pulling the hat further over her face and hurrying along the path, now walking faster, almost trotting. But he easily caught up with her and grabbed the bag over her shoulder from behind, stopping her. In her low voice she cried, “What are you doing?!”

He replied, “That’s what I’m asking: what on earth are you doing?” She tried a back kick to his shin but he avoided it.

She said, still in her low voice, “This does not concern you. Let go!” But he twirled her around so she faced him, and he lifted the front of her hat, looking at her face and then down at her men’s clothes with a wry expression. After making sure it was her, and that she knew he knew, he pushed the front of the hat back down again.

Then he walked over to some other bushes nearby. Deok-man, who had been following her, rose up from where he had been hiding to talk to his General. Dae-man was with him, having run ahead of Young to locate Eun-soo. Very annoyed, Young threw his scabbard at Deok-man, saying, “You let her go?!”

But Deok-man had been put in a difficult position, saying, “I couldn’t help it! She worked really hard to try to flee without my notice. Then she started to run, and it’s not like I can capture her and tie her up. So I just followed her here.”

Young recognized his dilemma and didn’t scold him any further. Instead, he told Dae-man to go get a horse. Dae-man asked, “But it’s not two horses, just one?”

The General ruefully replied, “I certainly regret… having taught that person how to ride,” as he looked back at Eun-soo. “Bring only one.” Dae-man left, and the General told Deok-man to wait there. Then he decided to try to talk some sense into Eun-soo.

She insisted on continuing to walk. He had taken custody of her hat, twirling it from time to time in his hand as they strolled. He asked her, “So when you said you were going to do some thinking, this is what you came up with?” She tried grabbing her hat from him, but he swung it away from her. He continued, “To go alone to the heavenly gate?” He then took the sling off her shoulder and hefted it to see how heavy it was. She tried to grab it as well, but he had a good grip on it and shook her off. With all the silver in it, it was quite heavy, and he commented, “You sure packed substantially.”

She told him that the Yi family had given it to her as payment for her treatment. She muttered to herself, “Just thinking about Yi Seong Gye gives me the chills.”

But Young was sticking to the topic of her journey. “How can you be so rash? Where do you think that door is that you’re going there alone?”

She responded, “Are you going to keep on nagging and following me?”

“I’m thinking. Whether to convince you or take you by force.”

She stopped and turned to him. “Let’s just put an end to it. I release you from your promise.”

He paused, turned and looked at her, his heart sinking. “What does that mean?”

“You heard me. I won’t blame you for kidnapping me. It just happened; there’s nothing we can do about it. I’ll just think I’ve been very unlucky. So you don’t have to keep your promise anymore.” She ended with a defiant look.

“You want to say that the vow doesn’t exist?”

She looked down as she confirmed, “Yes.”

He had figured some things out about why she was acting the way she was, based on their last conversation. He asked, “Are you doing this in case I fight and die trying to keep my vow to you?”

“Well, that…”

“So that’s why you decided to go there alone? To protect me?”

She didn’t -- she couldn’t -- dispute that, because what he said was true, at least in large part. She took a big breath to gather herself and told him, “You know what a handshake is?”

“I don’t.”

“In my world, people shake hands when they meet and when they bid farewell. She held out her hand and said, “Here, take it.” He skeptically looked down at her hand and then stared at her for a few moments. She was as stubborn as he was. She told him, “Come on.”

He didn’t want to part with her. He put her hat back on her head, took her outstretched hand and began dragging her back to where he had found her, saying, “It is a vow I made. So I'm the one that decides whether to keep it or not. As he pulled her along, her hat fell off and she began struggling to get loose, shouting, “Wait!” But he just kept going, pulling her along while telling her, “So, if you could just be more careful and wait…”

She cried, “Even if you drag me like this, I’ll run away again.”

Surprised, he stopped and looked at her, “Run away?” He let her pull her hand loose.

She told him very forcefully, “Let me go! I can’t bear to watch more people die in front of me! And I don’t want to be involved in your world. And… I don’t want to cry because of you either. So let me go.”

He looked away from her as his heart sank again. He couldn’t argue with her anguish about the violence of his world. But he tried one more time. “How can I let you go, to leave you here?”

But she cried, “Stop protecting me. You needn’t do that anymore, I’m saying. It’s not hard to break a promise. So just break it. Then, that’s it.” She tugged at the bundle he still held. He held onto it for a few moments while his eyes grew sad and resigned. Then he let it go… and let her go. She gathered herself, picked up her hat and went on her way. Young stood there, caught between his heart and sense of responsibility and her determination. Finally he returned with Dae-man to the capital to deal with his other compelling responsibilities. Deok-man continued to travel with her, no longer following in secret but as a guide as well as a guard. Unknown to any of them, Eun-soo was still being shadowed by one of the Chisal assassins.

A few days later Lady Choi told the King and Queen that the General would be meeting with Teacher Ikjae, a well-known elder scholar. He was the senior teacher of the scholar Young had already met, and his name was on the list of scholars the King had received from the Suribang. Lady Choi told them that the elder scholar possessed an extremely wide acquaintance with not just scholars in Goryeo, but Yuan as well. The Queen added that she had also heard of him when she lived in Yuan. In turn that prompted the King to remember that the last time the pro-Yuan faction had rebelled, it was Teacher Ikjae who went to Yuan in person to oppose the incorporation of Goryeo into a Yuan province. Most people believed that it was due to his efforts that Goryeo remained a separate country. The Queen wondered if he would come to serve the King. Lady Choi was a bit worried that her nephew was not skilled in oral argument and politics, but he was forthright and honest, so people tended to believe what he said. Still, she wasn’t sure whether he’d be successful.

When Young arrived for his meeting with the scholar, he found more than a dozen men sitting at tables in one room. Beyond that, Lee Saek and his mentor, Teacher Ikjae, sat on the floor in an adjoining room separated from the other room only by bamboo screens. They would interview the General, but the other men, all scholars, would be able to hear their conversation. The General entered with two other Woodalchi and bowed to the assembled men, then came to the next room and introduced himself to the celebrated elder scholar. “I, Woodalchi General, Choi Young, came upon your summons, Elder.”

The elder told him, “Today, we called you because we have a few things to ask you. Can you keep an open heart and answer truthfully?”

Young responded, “I will do so.” They invited him to come in and sit. He bowed and gave his sword to Dae-man to hold for him, then sat down across from them, arranging his long jacket as he did so. He sat erect but respectfully kept his eyes down until they engaged with him.

The younger scholar gave a short family history of Young to the elder. “Choi Young, offspring from the line of Ministry of National Affairs. His father was formerly a scholar official of the Bureau of Political Affairs. He served in a military camp and then served as the youngest assistant general in the Red Moon army. Upon the disbanding of the Red Moon, for the past seven years, as a Woodalchi, he served the late kings.”

Teacher Ikjae spoke to Young, “I knew your father from the time he was a scholar official in the Bureau of Political Affairs.”

Young responded noncommittally, “Have you?”

“Your father once said this to me in private, that he wished for his son to know one thing. Have you heard of it?”

Young certainly had. “Gyeon (see) Geum (gold) Yeo (like) Seok (stone). Those were his last words to me.”

The scholar repeated, “To treat gold like stone.”

“Yes.”

“I did some investigation about you. You are capable of becoming influential under the current King as his right-hand man. But not only do you not covet gold, you don’t even own a cast iron pot.”

Impatient, Young commented, “So is this what you wanted to ask me?”

The elder scholar saw he needed to get to the point. “Why this current king?”

“Excuse me?”

“For the past seven years, I’m told you were a person who had no attachment to money or power. So why did you suddenly decide to follow this king?”

“Are you now asking me to evaluate the current king?”

The elder sighed and replied, “We are people who’ve already given up hope in the Goryeo royal family. We are just enduring the years of life left to us. So you must explain to us. Why this king? For example, does the new King seem wise?”

Young answered, “He is wise…”

The elder asked another question, “Is he a merciful king to the people?”

“I’ve never seen how he interacts with commoners, so I don’t really know.”

“Does he have a strong will for autonomy from Yuan?”

“It seems so.”

“Is he someone who’d easily lay down his life for our Goryeo to stand on our own with dignity?”

“I’ve never put it to the test, so I don’t know.”

“Then let me ask you this way. If we serve the new King for the rest of our lives, what can he give us in return?”

Young was getting impatient again. He asked, “May I ask a question first?”

“I am listening.”

“What does your king have to be? As wise as Zhuge Kongming [a brilliant Chinese scholar and strategist], merciful as the Buddha, who grants power, riches and long life to those who serve him? You’re waiting for a man like that? Is that what you’re asking of him?”

Rebuked, the elder recognized that the General had a point. So he went back to his original question. “I’ll ask again. You, Choi Young, why this current King?”

“Because he is the King I chose on my own for the first time.”

“What drove you to choose him on your own?”

“He often feels intimidated. He gets confused about his decisions as well. He often regrets his own actions. But more than anything, he has shame." Young meant that the King had a moral compass, and his conscience was often pricked by a decision or action he'd taken.

“Shame?”

“That’s why I decided. To protect him before he loses his shame. Is that answer enough?”

The elder thought for a few moments. Then he asked, “Did you say to attend the King’s court session at the full moon of this month?”

“Yes.”

The elder was thinking aloud, “The significance of attending the sermon is that we would serve the King and protect his shame. However, in order to do so, we must at least stay alive, right? Can you vow to safeguard our lives?”

Young knew that would be a difficult task, but he also knew that the King’s survival depended on gathering intelligent and honorable men like these. He considered for a few moments, then promised the elder that he and his men would protect all of them until they came to the court at the full moon.

After leaving the meeting, Young thought of the irony of Eun-soo not wanting his protection at the same time as a group of scholars demanded it. He missed the High Doctor already, but he had many plans to make and carry out if he was to ensure the lives of those scholars.

Meanwhile, on the road Eun-soo and Deok-man had stopped for a bite to eat, and a bowlful of steamed buns sat in front of her. Deok-man had his back to her, scanning for any danger before he sat down. As had happened to her before, in her memory she suddenly saw Young in his place. She saw him look at her as he had done when they traveled to the Prince’s cottage, stunningly handsome, with his loose hair flying about as he turned. Then he became Deok-man again. With a resigned look she offered him the bowl of buns. And later, when they were eating, it happened again. Deok-man was talking with his mouth full, assuring her that he needed to go with her, to protect her from robbers and others who might enslave her. And, he told her that he liked traveling. Suddenly she saw Young sitting across from her, keeping a constant eye out for dangers that might threaten her. Her heart lifted and then sank again when his image was replaced again by Deok-man. Neither of them noticed that the Chisal assassin following them stood not far away.

The following day Young was sitting with the King while they both drank tea. He reported on his conversation with the scholars, and the King looked pleased, saying, “So he will come, Teacher Ikjae?”

The General confirmed, “He will come.”

“Without anything in return?”

Young smiled at the King, “I’m sure he’ll ask for rewards later, but Your Majesty will have to solve that in the future.”

“I see. So I’ll have to solve it.”

Young smiled and nodded once, then changed the subject. “I let the High Doctor leave.”

“I heard. She didn’t even bid farewell to me, nor the Queen.” The King sounded regretful.

His General smiled, telling him, “That was just in case you might have held her back.”

The King told Young, “You never let me have the last word. You always have a comment.” They both smiled, enjoying each other’s company.

After a few moments the General grew serious again, saying, “Your Majesty.”

“What? Are you reproaching me again?”

“The Woodalchi can, automatically in the absence of any orders, handle nearly any situation. They are trained for that. Do keep them close to you, always.”

The King wasn’t sure where Young was going with the statement. “Of course I will.”

“If Teacher Ikjae comes, you will be able to rebuild Goryeo, but you’ll need the Woodalchis’ protection as you do so.” He knew Ki Chul would never stop his machinations to defeat the King.

Then Young returned to a more personal, pleasant matter, “I hear the Queen is residing with you in your chambers.” He was happy for them, that their relationship seemed to be mending.

The King seemed mildly uncomfortable, and told him, “She does, just in case anything happens to her.”

But Young just said with a friend’s good-natured smile, “I know you’ll handle it well.” A little embarrassed but pleased, the King smiled in response.

Later that day it was Lady Choi that had to give some bad news to Young. “I heard the band of Chisal is here.”

Alarmed, Young asked, “Chisal? That assassin gang?”

“Yup.”

“Who called them?”

She said dryly, “Who do you think?”

Young closed his eyes momentarily and sighed, “Him. Does he really intend to kill them all, everyone that comes to His Majesty?”

“Do you plan to fight them too? All by yourself?”

They walked out into a garden area, and her nephew sat down, sighing again, “I’m thinking.”

She was worried that he had taken on too much. “I heard that you said you were going to safeguard them all, from the Elder Ikjae to all of those around him.”

He was surprised with the speed with which she learned everything, saying, “Seriously, you are fast! I just met him last night.”

She ignored his comment. “I guess you got stabbed and that made you stupid? With what power are you going to protect them all?”

Her nephew gave a self-deprecating smile, “You don’t trust me, Aunt?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? To Ki Chul, the High Doctor isn’t the only toy. The King, the people, the world, too, they are all toys to that man.”

“So you’re saying I don’t have the power to block him.”

“Then you do?”

He paused for a few moments, a sad memory tugging on his heart at the same time as a grim decision began to form in his mind. It arose from the Doctor leaving as the very great danger Ki Chul posed. He said to his aunt, “May Hee. She didn’t trust me either. That I would protect her.” His aunt started to look concerned. She knew how much guilt he had carried with him about her. He continued, “Her as well. She can’t seem to believe.”

“Her?” And then she knew. Of course, the High Doctor.

He looked down, making a grim decision about what to do about Ki Chul, but letting no sign of it show in his expression. “Aunt.”

“Talk.”

“Mae Hee. I can’t remember her face.”

“What?” She was really getting worried

“It’s been so long that I don’t remember it.”

“So what about it?”

With a slight smile he went on, “What if, at this rate, I might not recognize her even if we meet in the world after?” Then his smile widened. “I can’t do that to her. So before that. Before I really forget for good, I think I need to go and meet her.” 

With every sentence Lady Choi became alarmed, “What are you talking about?” The only way he could meet her was if he died.

He stood up and faced his aunt. “I’ll do what I can do.”

He went to go past her, but she grabbed his arm, saying, “And what is that?”

He looked directly at her. “What Father always said. The best strategy is the simplest.” Then he took her hand from his arm, smiled sweetly at her, and said, “Goodbye.” As he left, she turned to look after him, concern etched on her face.

Not long after talking with his aunt, Young went to the darkened throne room. He stood for a time, looking at the throne. He recalled the battle at the village on the border, saving the King’s life, and his first conversations with the King, when the King had asked him why he disliked him, and then when the King had said he was the only man he could trust. And he remembered the King coming to him in prison, kneeling in front of him, placing his hand on Young’s chained wrist and asking him to teach him how to fight so he could save him. He had come to care for and admire the King, and he thought it vital that the King have the chance to rule in Goryeo. There was one thing he could do to help ensure that. Then he bowed meaningfully to the empty throne. With a determined face he turned and walked back down the long corridor, the tall warrior with a sword silhouetted by the soft light from a window.

His aunt had followed him at a distance, and again she looked after him as he left, concerned that he had decided something very dire. In fact, Lady Choi was so worried about her nephew that she mentioned what he had told her to the Queen. The Queen became apprehensive as well. She knew how much the King depended on his General, and that he also regarded Young as a friend, one of the few people in whom he confided. She told Lady Choi that she needed to find a way stop him. But Lady Choi knew her nephew wouldn’t listen to her or anyone else. He would be stubborn and determined on his course of action. The Queen asked, “Even if I summon him and order him, it won’t work?”

Lady Choi replied that she had gone to his room and he had already cleaned and emptied it. Not that that took much time or effort; his possessions were minimal. And now he was absent from the barracks. The Queen said, “Then what should we do?”

Lady Choi suddenly had an idea, “Perhaps one person. He might listen to her…”

“High Doctor?”

“Perhaps she could grab his heart. That is my assumption.”

The Queen urged her, “Then what are you waiting for? Hurry!” Lady Choi needed no further encouragement. She went to the stables, had a fast horse saddled, and began riding along the route to Heaven’s door.

Sometime ago Young had told the Suribang to track Ki Chul’s movements, and they had been giving him regular reports. Now, he sat in a secluded area, shaping a long bamboo pole with a knife, waiting for another report. The two young Suribang approached him and gave him the details of a particular activity of the Prince of the Court. They had discovered that once a month Ki Chul went to a certain place to handle a significant but illegal money transaction, usually but not always accompanied by 3-4 guards. They confirmed that tonight was the night, and it always took place very late, when few people were about. They told him if he didn’t act tonight, he’d have to wait another month. Young complimented them, saying, “You worked hard.” They asked him if he was going to confront Ki Chul alone, but he shrugged off the question by saying, “What am I going to do by bringing you punks?”

As a reward for their work, he invited Ji-ho to spar with him. Young would only use the bamboo pole he had been shaping. Ji-ho was thrilled. In a nearby open area, Young invited him to start. The young spearman tried several methods of attack, all of which Young blocked. Finally Young used the bamboo pole to catch Ji-ho’s chin and neck, flip the spear out of his hands and catch it. He held the youngster’s weapon behind his back and told him, “Your eyes don’t help you.”

In pain and holding his neck and chin, the Ji-ho cried, “What about my eyes?”

“You’re already looking at where you’re aiming.”

“I am?”

“You’re letting your enemy know your next step.” Having given that terse but life-saving tip to the young man, Young threw his spear back to him and left, leaving his companion, the archer Ji-hul, disappointed that he hadn’t been able to have a go at Young, too.

The afternoon wore on into evening, and Eun-soo and Deok-man were getting ready to stop at an inn in one of the villages along their path. She was stretching out her sore body on a small bridge, and Deok-man had just paid a woman for a nearby lodging when Lady Choi finally found them. Eun-soo greeted her, but Lady Choi had no time for amenities. She threw Eun-soo’s bag to Deok-man and told him to guard them so no one could come near. Then she took Eun-soo aside, saying, “We need to talk.”

When they had sat down together, Lady Choi told her, “I came thinking that guy might listen to you, High Doctor.”

Eun-soo had a good idea who she was speaking about, “By ‘that guy’, you mean…”

“Choi Young, my nephew.”

Eun-soo became immediately alarmed. “Did something happen?”

“I’m afraid something will happen. By chance, have you seen the sword he carries around? That is the precious sword he inherited from his teacher. Wrapped around that sword’s hilt is an old cloth. That was…from his betrothed.”

This was news to Eun-soo. “By betrothed, you mean he was engaged?”

“I think they did it by themselves, saying they would marry once the nation was secure.”

“By ‘did’ you mean…”

“She died.” Eun-soo gasped at hearing that, but Lady Choi continued, “That was seven years ago. They were pledged brother and sister who mastered martial arts under the same teacher. But their master was killed by the then king. The cause of the incident was her. She couldn’t bear it anymore and a few days later, she killed herself.”

“You mean, suicide?” Eun-soo suddenly realized that Young’s tale of the drunk king who killed his master held a second hurt just as deep.

And Lady Choi confirmed it. “Afterwards, Young had a miserable life. He would sleep for days and nights and get into any and every fight. But he seemed to have changed lately. He’s been working hard. I thought…That was due to you, High Doctor.” Surprised, Eun-soo pointed to herself with a questioning look. Lady Choi confirmed, “Who that guy cherishingly refers to as ‘that person.' That is you, right, High Doctor?”

With wide eyes, Eun-soo said, “I…I’m not sure.”

“Did you say to him you couldn’t trust him? That you no longer needed him, did you say that?” Eun-soo put her hand to her mouth, thinking that what she had told him could be interpreted as not trusting him, especially by someone so committed to his vow and his honor.

Lady Choi went on, “So it seems that he has found another place where he is needed. That’s…a place of death, it seems, High Doctor.” 

Eun-soo felt a stab of fear go through her. What had she done?! She hadn’t thought it possible to wound the stoic, seemingly invulnerable warrior. Even though she’d seen the sadness in his eyes when she told him to leave her. Now she understood more. But would she be too late? Would he even listen to her?

She needed no more urging. Lady Choi lent her the horse and Eun-soo mounted it with no hesitation. Deok-man was concerned about her riding alone, but she didn’t stop to argue. She kicked the horse and was off, heading back to Gae Kyeong as fast as the horse would take her. As she rode, she kept remembering her question to Young about whether he could win a fight with Ki Chul. He had answered, “I’d lose,” and in this world, losing meant dying.

As for the subject of their conversation, he and Dae-man were sitting on opposite sides of a stone bridge. Young was deep in thought, steeling himself for the battle ahead. He pulled his sword out and checked it and then re-sheathed it several times. He went over what he had planned in his mind, rehearsing it over and over. Dae-man knew that something very serious was about to happen, and from the way his mentor was acting, he felt deep misgivings. Finally he called to him, “General!”

Just as Young had protected the young Suribang from the upcoming confrontation, he intended to protect Dae-man as well. So he told Dae-man to go back to the palace and relay his message to the Vice-Commander.

“No I won’t.”

“What did you say, brat?”

“I’m going to follow you and go, General.”

“I told you, I’m going alone.”

Dae-man was stubborn, telling him, “I’m going too!”

Young started to shout, “Listen to me...!” But seeing how concerned Dae-man was, he softened and simply said, “This is a trap. I have to do it alone to make it work.”

“A trap?” Dae-man ran over to him and told him, “Trap and hunting. I’m better at that than you.” Young smiled, feeling fond of Dae-man. Dae-man repeated, “But a trap?”

“What about it?”

“You always use frontal breakthrough.”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? As if I have anything left to protect.” He paused and then confided, “Daeman, I think I am scared.”

“What?”

Smiling to himself, Young rose, sheathed his sword again, and told Dae-man not to follow him. That if he did, he’d never see him again.

Dae-man cried, “General!”

Young turned and put his hand, not ungently, on Dae-man’s head, saying, “I mean it.” He wanted to protect Dae-man from being hurt at all costs. Then he turned and left. Dae-man huffed in frustration and sat down on the bridge, waiting for his mentor to return.

In the meantime, Ki Chul had received a note from his spy in the group of maiden warriors guarding the Queen. She had overheard Lady Choi and the Queen talking. Lady Choi had been sure that her nephew was going to confront Ki Chul at the risk of his life. He chuckled as he read the message. From their confrontation in the throne room, he knew Young’s inner power was no match for him. But what he didn’t realize was that, to Young, as long as Ki Chul died along with him, his own death didn’t matter.


	23. Episode 12, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young confronts Ki Chul, and the Doctor rushes to stop the fight between them. Later Choi Young and Eun-soo decide to become “partners.”

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

While Ki Chul read the message that Choi Young was coming for him at the risk of his own life, Eum-ja detected an intruder and went searching for who it could be. He spotted Ji Ho, but Ji Hul held him off from pursuit at arrowpoint. The two young Suribang allowed themselves to hesitate just a bit before escaping, making sure they were seen very clearly. When Eum-ja reported back, Ki Chul was momentarily puzzled. It wasn’t a frontal attack nor an ambush attack with him as the target. He concluded that very likely the intruders had been after the Hwata relics. Ki Chul quickly ran to the room containing his treasure box. He took out the small box with the rusty tools and decided that couldn’t be it. Then he opened the box with the notebook. He knew how much the High Doctor had wanted it, and that Choi Young very likely wanted to get it for her. The notebook was still there, and he took it out, mulling over what the intrusion had meant. Meanwhile, his minions were expressing concern about his monthly meeting that was to take place that very night. Would there be a trap for their pledged brother? Perhaps he should cancel the meeting. Finally Ki Chul began to chuckle, saying, “This is what he wants so badly.”

Hwa Su-in was puzzled, “So what were those thieves doing here?”

Still smiling, Ki Chul answered, “He’s asking me to meet him alone. Bring it to him or prepare to be met by theft.” He chuckled again, “Of course, I’ll bring it to him in person then.” He tucked the book in a pocket and left for his meeting.

Young had also arranged for another Suribang to meet him near the place where Ki Chul would come later in the night. When he arrived there, the swordsman-dancer came up to him and flirtatiously put his arm around him. But the General twisted away and pushed the other man toward a wall, telling him to stay right there and not to get involved in whatever happened, no matter what. The other man made one more attempt to put his arm on his shoulder, but Young again pushed him away, saying, “I’m trusting you. Hide well and don’t come out no matter what happens to me.”

“Why?”

“You’ll know as you stay hidden. At the moment it ends, there’s an item you need to find. And someone for you to bring that item to. Young gave him more details, and ended with, “Got it?” The other man assured him he understood.

The evening wore on, and Young finally entered the broad street where he knew Ki Chul would come. There was a large house on one side, and he sat down on some steps next to it to wait with a determined face. He rehearsed the coming confrontation in his mind, looking up and seeing Ki Chul and four guards coming around a corner on the opposite end of the street where he waited. The General stood up and walked to the center of the road and stood there. All five men also halted, the four guards with their swords drawn and ready. As soon as Young took a step toward them, the four guards began running to attack him. Ki Chul just waited to see what would happen. Young picked up speed, drew his sword and threw it at the first guard. It hit the guard point first, skewering him. As soon as he reached that man, he pulled his sword out and in one continuous motion slashed a second guard across the chest with it. Continuing to stride forward he twirled his sword once and then slashed the third guard from the opposite side, felling him as well. The fourth guard was close behind the others and slashed at Young as he approached. Young bent far backward to avoid it, then twisted to turn and stab the guard in the side. All of this happened in less than half a minute. Having disposed of the guards, he stopped momentarily to stare at Ki Chul. As he did so, the guards’ bodies disappeared into dark tendrils of smoke.

Young ran toward Ki Chul and leaped high over him, landing behind the other man and facing him. Ki Chul had drawn his sword and quickly turned to face him as well. He slashed at Young’s sword arm and drew blood. But the warrior simply switched his sword to his other arm. But Ki Chul was just as fast as Young. As Young was switching sword arms, Ki Chul slashed at his side and drew blood again. Young held his side and then stood up, making a forward slash. But the other man had the drop on him, placing his sword against Young’s neck. This was actually part of Young’s plan. Ki Chul pressed down with his sword, beginning to drive Young toward the ground. In a flash Young turned around and pressed back into Ki Chul’s body while positioning his own sword, point first toward himself. He drove his sword through his own body and into Ki Chul, a killing blow for both of them.

Young opened his eyes and gasped, his rehearsal of what he planned to do had been so real. He looked up to see if Ki Chul had arrived, all the while opening and closing the hand of his sword arm to keep it limber.

While Young waited for Ki Chul, Eun-soo was riding back to Gae Kyeong, hoping to stop Young from getting himself killed. As her horse galloped along, her hat caught the wind and flew away, her bound hair loosening and then flowing out behind her. At last, she came to the bridge where Dae-man waited. She was greatly relieved to see him because Young had to be close by. She pulled her horse to a stop and shouted at Dae-man, “Where is he? Your General! Where is he now?” Dae-man pulled at his hair with anxiety, unsure what to tell her. She shouted again, “You were always glued to him, so why are you here alone?”

Finally Dae-man told her, “H-He said not to follow him, so I can’t go.”

She got off her horse and demanded, “Where did he go? Where?!” Without even waiting for his answer she set off running down the road, the most likely direction in which he could have gone. She tripped and fell at one point, but undeterred, got up and began running again as fast as she could.

Young waited, continuing to stay limber and rehearse in his mind how he would kill Ki Chul, and killing himself in the process. At last he spotted him walking alone, without any guards. Young stood up and faced him.

Ki Chul asked pleasantly, “Have you waited long? I was told you’d risk your life to come and see me.”

Young smiled briefly before answering, “I need to risk my life to kill you, my Lord. I heard the Chisal have entered Gae Kyeong. I believe it was you who called them.”

“Correct, I called them.”

“You intend to kill all of the people who are coming to His Majesty, even if it’s dozens or hundreds, to force the King into submission?”

Ki Chul laughed, “Correct. Now that I look at you, you are quite a sentimental fellow, a warrior with a tender heart.” He then asked where the trap was. But Young told him he hadn’t set one. Using a trap would be a lingering attachment to live, and Ki Chul was too powerful to fight without being willing to die.

Ki Chul’s expression sobered. He couldn’t possibly understand why someone would be willing to die like that. “So in the end, you intend to die?”

Young only said, “I’ll ask you a last question. Did you bring High Doctor’s notebook?”

Smiling, the other man said, “I brought it.”

Returning his smile, Young said, “It’s enough.” With that, his face grew fierce. He drew his sword and ran toward Ki Chul, who did likewise.

Young swung first, clashing with Ki Chul’s sword and driving it away from him. Young swept his sword back toward Ki Chul’s throat, but the other man ducked and, using his inner power, literally flew just above the ground to Young’s other side. Young followed him, swinging again, but Ki Chul again used his power to not only avoid the blow but slash the underside of Young’s sword arm. Young slashed again and again and Ki Chul kept avoiding the blows with his inner power. Young’s inner power was still hobbled by having using it when he was still recovering. Ki Chul slashed Young’s thigh and then slashed at the hilt of Young’s sword, ripping off much of the cloth that had been wrapped around it. Fortunately Young let go of that part of the hilt just long enough to avoid a serious cut, and then grabbed it again, landing in a kneeling position, holding his slashed thigh. He used his sword to push himself upright and turned to go at it again. As far as he was concerned, it wouldn’t end until one or both of them were dead.

He slashed at Ki Chul again but allowed his shoulder and neck to be open enough so that the other man could try to put his sword there, which he did. Turning quickly so his back pressed into the front of Ki Chul, he held off the other man’s sword while positioning his own, as he had rehearsed so many times before. But Ki Chul turned to the side and Young couldn’t complete his sword thrust to kill them both. Young turned as well, and they blocked the each other’s swords with their hands on each other’s arms. Their faces were just inches apart as both of them exerted their inner powers. But Ki Chul’s power was the more effective, freezing Young’s sword hand. Having done that damage, Ki Chul pushed Young away so he could finish him off with his sword. Young looked at his hand, which was icy and gray. Still, he would not stop. With his sword in his left hand he charged toward Ki Chul once again. Ki Chul raised his sword for a killing blow.

Suddenly, there was the High Doctor, running toward them, shouting at Ki Chul, “What are you doing?! Stop!” She came to a halt in the space between them, holding a large knife in her hand. Both men paused. Shocked by seeing her there, Young said, “Imja!” Motioning him to stay where he was, she told him, “You too! Don’t come any closer.” She continued, “The fight ends here. Both of you, stop it, please!”

Equally shocked to see her there, Ki Chul told her, “That knife is dangerous. Here.” And he held out his hand for it.

But instead of giving it to him, she held it with both hands to the side of her neck, shouting at them, “I’m a Doctor from heaven. I know very well where and how to cut, so it’s an immediate, painless death!”

Smirking, Ki Chul asked, “So you plan to kill yourself?”

“Are you going to kill me?”

That brought him up short. He briefly looked at Young, knowing exactly why she had come there. He turned back to her. “Then, tell me, when do I die?” When she hesitated, he angrily shouted at her, “You at least should answer my question, so I have a reason to keep you alive!”

Scared but still holding the knife to her throat, she replied, “It’s about four years…No, about five years.”

“At whose hands do I die?” Again he briefly looked at Young. “Does the current king stay on the throne even after I die?”

She told him that it was so. More calmly, he said, “Then, it’s the King who will kill me.” Eun-soo stayed silent. Ki Chul looked at Young and said, “You wanted to know what I planned to do? Right now, I am testing to see if the future can be changed.” Then he looked back to Eun-soo. “If I can change that history, we will have much to talk about. Until then, take care of yourself.” Casting a last angry glance at them, Ki Chul turned away, looked at a sword slash on his arm that he’d received from the General, and walked away.

As soon as Ki Chul had left, Young strode up to Eun-soo and angrily grabbed the knife from her hands, shouting at her, “What the hell are you doing?! Where do you think you are? You put a knife to your throat like that? Have you lost your mind?!”

She shouted right back, “ _You’re_ the one who lost your mind! You said you couldn’t defeat him. What’s wrong with you? You think that you’ll fight alone, and die, and it’ll be the end? Do you only think about yourself?”

As she talked, Young’s anger began turning to shock at what she was saying. He’d never thought of dying as being _selfish_. He turned away, but she wasn’t done talking. “I can’t run away from that man, can I? But I still left and lashed out at you to let me go.” He stopped and turned around. She continued in a softer tone, “That’s why you had to do this, right? And if you were to die? Then it’s me who killed you.” He looked away and swallowed, beginning to see her point. She went on, “You know what it’s like for those who remain, what they feel. You really are so mean!” She ended with tears in her eyes. Young looked at her, surprised that she must know about Mae Hee’s suicide to have said that to him.

In the short silence that followed, Eun-soo noticed blood dripping from the palm of his left hand, where Ki Chul’s sword had bitten into it while Young gripped it to keep it away from his neck. She told him she needed to wrap it to stop the bleeding and walked over to a place where they could sit down. He followed her silently, and sat down with his back against a wall while Eun-soo crouched in front of him and bandaged his hand with a cloth ripped from her own garment. Then she sat down next to him. Young examined the bandage and held the hand out, tentatively making a few fists to see if he could still use it. Then he looked at his sword hand, which was still gray, with a small cut on it. He held it in front of him, moved its fingers a little, and then began rubbing it with the fingers of his other hand to warm it. She looked over and said, “Don’t do that. You can’t rub it.” She reached out, putting her hand on his wrist to move it over to her so she could look at his hand. But he pulled it back in toward his body. He always kept his wounds hidden if possible, and he was unused to anyone tending to him. But she held onto his wrist and, after a pause, he relented and let her bring his hand to rest in her lap. She gently untied the bindings around his wrist to get a good look at how far up the damage went, telling him in a quiet voice, “It could get frostbitten, so don’t move your fingers until your blood circulation returns.” She put one of her hands under the palm of the gray hand to support and warm it, saying, “It’d be better to put it in warm water.” Then she put her other hand on top of his, so his hand would be warmed on both sides. It was such a caring, gentle touch that he looked over at her and then at her hands enclosing his.

Touched but reticent about showing how much he was affected, he looked away and simply said, “I understand.” She bent over and began breathing on his hand to help warm it further. Surprised, he looked over again and saw something drop onto the hand that was on top of his. And then another. Her long hair hung down, hiding her face. With his bandaged hand he started to reach toward her hair, but she moved away, just as reticent as he was about showing him her pain. He stopped for a moment, then reached again and slowly, gently, moved her hair back over her ear so he could see her face. There were tears rolling down her cheeks and they had dripped down onto their joined hands. He realized that what she had told him weren’t merely words. His death would have dealt a harsh blow to her, making her feel guilty for it. But her tears and the deep feeling conveyed by the tenderness in her hands showed there was more. She cared for him. He had to let that sink in for a few moments.

Unaccustomed to receiving those feelings, he didn’t dare keep looking at her. But in response, he made her another vow, one that dovetailed with coming alive again. As he reflected, he told her, “I thought that was the easiest way, to do what I could do. Try it first, and if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t. This is how I’ve lived over these years, so it’s become a habit.” He looked over at her again and saw that she was on the verge of sobbing. Deeply moved by her tears, he promised her, “I will never again risk my life so easily. Never.” She sniffled and looked up, their eyes meeting. He added softly, “So…don’t cry.” She gave a slight nod and looked down, a bit comforted by his words. Both of them were unsure of themselves with this new level of their relationship, so they sat silently for a time. Eventually they returned to the palace and their own quarters, mostly in silence, each contemplating what had happened with Ki Chul and with each other.

Once Ki Chul returned to his mansion, he nearly collapsed. He had overused his inner power, and he slumped over in a chair waiting for Yang-sa to prepare a rejuvenating hot bath. Yang-sa chided him, saying, “I told you not to use your inner power, and that if you must use it, use it only briefly. You have the skills to fight the Woodalchi without having to use your inner power. Or was the bastard that strong, that you had to use up all your reserve?”

But Ki Chul wasn’t listening. Instead he was remembering what the High Doctor had told him, that Yuan was going to fall soon, and that she knew when he’d die. When his bath was ready, he climbed into the tub and sat in it, shivering and shaking. He muttered more to himself than anyone else, “She said in 4-5 years. How is a life set? By who and by how? Can’t one change his fate?” He became more determined as he spoke. “If the current king is to kill me, then I will change the king, and if this country is to harm me, I will change this country. If it’s heaven that determines it, then I will change heaven!” Then his energy entirely failed him, and he hung his head, waiting for his body to recover its strength.

The next day, Eun-soo and Young were walking together, on their way to a meeting with the King. She told him that she’d come to a decision not to run away anymore. He smiled broadly at that, saying, “You thought well.”

She continued, “Then, if I don’t run away, then what do I do? I have to stand up to fight him. I have no other choice.” While she was talking, Young noticed they were being followed by Dae-man and Dol-bae, and he motioned them to go away. The Woodalchi, and especially Dae-man, often looked in on the Doctor to make sure she was safe, not to mention curious when they saw their General and the Doctor together.

Young commented, “You could just do nothing and wait.”

She shook her head. “No I can’t. I can’t just breathe and live. That’s too hard for me.” Then she had an idea and turned to him with a smile. “What if we become ‘partners’?”

That was an unknown word to him. “What?”

“What I want is to get my book back from Ki Chul. And what you want is to protect the King from Ki Chul. Right?”

“For now, yes.”

“But he won’t just give it to me. So if your king becomes powerful, he can force him to give me my book. So our goals are the same. So we’d better become partners from now on.”

He gave her a puzzled look. But she told him, “Repeat after me, ‘Part-ner.’” He only looked away. He didn’t think it was proper for someone from earth to say heaven words.

She tried to coax him, “You really don’t want to learn? 'Partner.' Not really hard to pronounce either.”

Even though he wouldn’t say a heaven word, he was intrigued, and he asked her what it meant. She told him that it meant they would be on the same side and fight for a shared goal. That was the gist of it. He smiled, liking the idea and liking that they’d work together.

They had come to a series of stone benches, and she asked him to sit down. When he hesitated, she scolded him, saying, “I even saved your life and you can’t even do this much?” She took him by the arm and pushed him toward a bench, then sat down across from him. He yielded and sat. She explained, “But to become partners, there are a few things we need to agree on. First, we tell each other everything. For example, like now, when you’re taking the other person somewhere, say why and where.”

He responded, “We’re going to the King’s quarters. We’ll go there and ask for permission to have you go under the Queen’s protection.”

She clapped her hands and responded, “Good. You did good.” She came over to him and sat down next to him. “And second, partners watch out for each other.”

He was incredulous at the idea of her watching out for him. That was something men did for women. He smiled a little skeptically and repeated, “Each other?”

But she was determined. “I told you. We fight together. You can’t just leave by yourself to fight alone without saying anything.”

Then he understood what she meant and agreed, “Understood. But you too. Don’t wander around without letting me know.”

She smiled, nodding, and said, “Fine.” She reached her hand out to him, saying, “Here, handshake.”

“Didn’t you say we do this when we meet or say farewell?” She shook her head and told him it also meant to agree on something and that it was good to use at this moment. She held her hand out again. He hesitated, then took her hand, and she pumped their clasped hands up and down.

He looked over to see Dae-man and Dol-bae watching them again. He asked her, “Didn’t you say we’d help each other out?”

“Of course. And she reached their joined hands toward his chest and then hers, saying, “You protect me and I protect you.”

He leaned over to her ear and spoke quietly, “Then before that, could you save my face? They both turned their heads to look at the two Woodalchi, then quickly dropped each other’s hands and separated, turning a little away from each other. Young cleared his throat, which he did when he was uncomfortable. To make matters worse, even Lady Choi and two of her servants had seen them. She had come there to tell them the royal couple was ready for them. Neither Young nor Eun-soo were aware that some others had already noticed something between the two. And there would no doubt be more rumors about their relationship throughout the palace before nightfall.

Eun-soo sat at the large table with Young standing beside her, the King sat at the head of the table and the Queen across from her. Lady Choi stood beside the Queen. The King started by noting that he had heard that the High Doctor had left on her own. She replied, “I tried, of course. But on my way, I came back as soon as I heard this guy was in danger.” She pointed to Young as she spoke. Young looked at her for a moment and then away, rolling his eyes and shifting his weight uncomfortably. She went on, “It was so much hard work overnight!”

The King asked, “Why, did something happen?”

Young interrupted, “It’s nothing.”

But she continued talking to the King and pointing to Young as he frowned down at her, “What do you mean it’s nothing? He tried to…”

Young clamped his hand around hers, interrupting her again. “It’s nothing much.”

He smiled at the King while Eun-soo said, “Ouch! OK, I get it.”

Young let go of her hand and changed the subject. “There’s intelligence that an assassin band has entered the capital. Until I can deal with them, I would like to ask if the Doctor may stay with the Queen.”

The King asked the Queen if that would be alright with her, and the Queen quickly granted that permission, smiling at Eun-soo and telling her that Lady Choi and the warrior maidens would protect her as well as they protected the Queen. Young bowed his head to the Queen to show his gratitude.

The King also wanted to know more about the future that the High Doctor had mentioned. “Was it ‘Josean’ that you said previously? What does that mean?”

She hadn’t really meant to name the future dynasty in the first place, and she didn’t want to give any more information that might change history. She dissembled, “Uh…There’s a nation by that name. Josean. Over there, somewhere under Southeast Asia. So there…are a lot of people from the Yi clan living there. Your Majesty, in fact I’m not sure. About the future.”

Young could tell that she was foundering and muttered to her, “If you don’t really know, then don’t go on.”

But she continued, “Well, I’m not sure if that future is what it is because I came here. Or if I just know the future before I came.”

Everyone looked puzzled. Young muttered to her again, “Do you not hear what I’m saying?”

She shot back, “It’s not like I’m telling him something I know.”

He started, “Anyway...”

She stood up and shouted at him, “Can’t I even talk?”

He shot back, “Not about things you don’t know!” The others in the meeting looked askance as the two argued.

She said, “You’re really…We’re partners, remember? You’re giving me orders.”

Young raised his hand to point at her, saying, “I said, don’t.”

But she pushed his hand back down, frowning at him and challenging, “Don’t what?”

He was about to retort again when he realized that they were making a scene in front of the royal couple. It took Eun-soo a few more seconds to realize the same thing. They stopped, and there was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Young cleared his throat, the King cleared his throat, and Lady Choi stared at them with her mouth hanging open. To the other meeting participants, they looked just like bickering lovers.

The meeting ended soon after, and Eun-soo returned to her quarters. She still felt angry and frustrated by her dilemma about time and history. No one else was around, so she crossed her arms and vented, “So what am I supposed to do? Go into some big jar and live like the dead in hiding? Don’t meet people and don’t talk? Treat no patients? Don’t even breathe?! History, the future? Give it to the dog! I don’t know so I’m just going to live.” She sat down on a stair step next to the object to which she had been venting, a large celadon vase. She turned to it, pointing her finger, “What? You have a gripe about my decision?” She put her hands to her head and mussed her hair, which she did whenever upset or frustrated, and rolled onto the floor in exasperation.

In the Woodalchi barracks, the High Doctor and Young were a hot topic of conversation. Deok-man was describing what he had seen on the path to heaven’s gate with her. “The General came and talked to her, but the one who put out the hand first was clearly High Doctor. Like this.” And he thrust his hand out to show them. “So then our General, that hand, he grabbed it like this and like this…” He grabbed Dol-bae’s wrist and pulled him several feet to show what Young had done when he began to pull the High Doctor back toward the city.

Dol-bae pulled his hand away and said “Our General? He grabbed High Doctor’s hand and dragged her?” Even having recently seen them shaking hands together, he was still skeptical that he’d take ahold of the High Doctor that way. It was typically a very proprietary thing to do with a woman. Just then Dae-man walked by and Deok-man grabbed him to verify his story. “You saw it too, right? Our General grabbed High Doctor’s hand and pulled it.”

Dae-man hadn’t actually seen that and said so, and then he added a new piece of information. “But I saw when our High Doctor saved our General. She was mouth-to-mouth with the General, breathing into him. And not just once or twice, but lots and lots. So our General got his breath back. I saw that!” The other Woodalchi were stunned. For all seven years that he’d led the Woodalchi, the General had led a completely spartan life. As far as they knew, he had never so much as looked at a woman, nor had he accompanied any of them on their occasional visits to the lesser gisaeng houses. Now some sort of relationship between their General and the High Doctor had been confirmed.

In his room in the Woodalchi barracks, Young sat resting his chin on his bandaged hand, staring at the hilt of his sword and the small piece of worn cloth still clinging to it. It was black with a small red crescent moon sewn on it. He had kept it tied around his sword since Mae Hee's death, seven years before. Now, he unwrapped it from the hilt, took it over to a small chest and placed it inside. There would always be a special place in his heart for her, but now his heart was opening to a living person. It was a subtle acknowledgement, but those who knew him well would notice the change.

Soon after, as if to confirm that, Lady Choi visited him, walking right into his room and saying, “So the Doctor got there in time before you did something stupid. I was surprised that there was someone in the world who could stop you. Then again, she isn’t from this world…”

He replied, “Because of that, it’s become complicated. It was a matter of killing only Ki Chul, but now I have to kill him and his servants…” She suddenly slapped him in the head, hard. He cried, “Ow!”

She snarled at him, “You were willing to die and yet that is all you can tell me?” She went to slap him again, but he ducked and shouted, “Ah, stop! I have a lot to do! First, I have to find a safe shelter for those who are to come to court.”

She told him she’d give him some warrior maidens if he needed them. But he told her that what he really needed was help in fighting the Chisal assassins. The problem was locating them; that was their biggest weapon, being undetected until they suddenly appeared to deal a death blow.

She remembered something he’d told her earlier. “Did you say there’s a spy among us?”

Young confirmed, “Ki Chul knew it precisely, that I’d risk my life to meet him. Who talked about that?”

“I talked about it to the Queen.”

“Who else was there?” She told him that she’d take care of it. But he suggested not getting rid of the spy; perhaps they could use her. She agreed and said she’d take that on. Then she asked if she needed to lure the assassins for him.

He replied, “Yes. First, it’d be the best if you can lure them one at a time to one or two locations I have in mind. I can’t fight all of them at once.” She told him she’d see what she could do.

Then she asked about the evening before. “What did that person say to you as she was stopping you from your crazy act? Did she expose some ways of the heaven or something?”

He answered, “Her life. She lay down her own life. She is seriously too fearless and she can’t distinguish earth and sky. And for someone who says she hates the smell of blood, she held a knife to her own throat!” He was still amazed at what she had done, torn between disapproval at the recklessness of it and admiration for her courage. He’d never met anyone like her. He sighed, then got up and left, leaving his aunt very surprised that the High Doctor had put her own life at risk in order to save her nephew.


	24. Episode 12, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King's supporters work to foil the threats against the King's new advisors. The Queen asks for help on how to cheer up the King. Ki Chul's minions bring back a possible claimant to the throne. Choi Young is attacked by the assassins

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

The Queen’s attendants had brought Eun-soo an outfit appropriate for a person of her status to wear as part of the Queen’s household. The High Doctor started to go through what seemed like a pile of clothing, exclaiming, “Woah, all these clothes…! There is layer upon layer…So complicated! And you want me to wear all of this?” Lady Choi came in and dismissed the other attendants, telling them that she’d tend to the High Doctor herself. Lady Choi began holding up the various pieces to Eun-soo’s shoulders to measure them for fit, but she had another purpose in mind.

“Actually, I have a request to ask of you, but Young didn’t really like it. He said that since you were from heaven, you wouldn’t be fond of lying.”

Eun-soo replied, “So what you need my help for, is for me to lie?”

“If it’s difficult, I will find another method,” said Lady Choi.

Eun-soo suddenly touched Lady Choi’s shoulder and told her to sit down so she could look at her face. Then she proceeded to touch, pull and push parts of Lady Choi’s face as if examining her for plastic surgery, describing what she would do, a tuck here, filler there, and so on. She told Lady Choi that she could make her look 20 years old again. Lady Choi was puzzled at first but increasingly intrigued. Finally she asked Eun-soo if that was really possible. 

Eun-soo chuckled and said, “I fooled you, right? As you can see, I’m very good at lying.” And she chuckled again. Lady Choi was a little flustered, but she had received her answer.

The King and Queen were in his study area together. She prepared the ink while the King drew a picture of horses. His mind was only marginally on his drawing; he was thinking about the coming grand court session with only a few days to go, and what Ki Chul might be planning in the meantime. He told the Queen that anything could happen. She replied that everyone was working hard to be ready for it, so he need not worry.

But the King continued, “Get rid of anyone who is not on his side? How is a human life so easy to him?” How great and important am I? To risk the lives of all those…”

The Queen knew his tendency to doubt himself, so she interrupted him, “You are different. You are not like him.”

He argued, “I am the one who decided to hold a session of the full court. I’ve done so to prove myself, risking the lives of so many.”

But she persisted, “You are still different from him. You just need to show them you are different. If you do not believe in yourself, those who toil for Your Majesty become too pitiful.”

Her calm but firm support helped him stop questioning himself. He’d need all his strength for the coming meeting.

Young hadn’t been exaggerating to his aunt about how busy he’d be in preparing for the King’s court session. Several things were happening at the same time. First, several Woodalchi exchanged their uniforms for street clothes and quietly began taking the scholars who would become the King’s advisors, as well as their close family members, to a safe place. Second, the King and Queen, Lady Choi, Il-shin and Eun-soo began a campaign of misdirection and confusion. Eun-soo told them the heavenly record said that Teacher Ikjae had become too enamored of Yuan when he’d gone there a year before, so he would never be a strong supporter of the King. She named other scholars and said they might look like the King’s supporters now but would turn against him at a later time. She named still others who were considered an ally of Ki Chul but were really in the King’s pocket, and so on. Lady Choi had identified the spy and made sure that she was present as a guard during the High Doctor’s supposed revelations of the heavenly record. The spy dutifully reported what the she had said, and Ki Chul’s group became unable to determine with any accuracy who would actually be firm supporters of the King. Third, Eun-soo also went on to say that the history records in heaven said that the King gathered the people who would be his advisors and kept them in a safe place. She said it was a “witness protection program”, but then stopped herself, noting, “They’re heavenly words, never mind.” She added that the only person who knew the secret location was the King’s bodyguard. Il-shin, who had been taking notes, told her that he’d tell the King and they’d implement that as soon as possible. They hoped that would draw the assassins to Young.

Another prong of their plan was to recruit the Suribang to divert some of the Chisal assassins away from Young for a short time so he didn’t have to fight all of them at once. One tactic they used was to dress the tall Suribang, Ji Ho, like Young in order to pull a few of the Chisal into following him. That worked for at least two of the assassins, who apparently followed the faux Young to see if he would lead them to where the advisors were being kept.

Ki Chul was understandably very frustrated. At this point he didn’t even know whether some of the scholars he already had killed might have eventually turned into allies. Receiving the information that only Choi Young knew where the scholars were, he realized the General was sending him a message to send the Chisal to him. Eum-ja volunteered to fight Choi Young and in the process, find out where the scholars were. But Ki Chul said no, he needed him to do something else. The King’s people weren’t the only ones with a multi-pronged plan. He sent Eum-ja and Hwa Su-in to find someone in another city and escort him back to the capital. Hwa Su-in was only too happy to leave the capital, since politics gave her a headache.

Just prior to the High Doctor’s revelations about his singular knowledge of the safe house location, Young met the elder scholar, Teacher Ikjae, and told him the Woodalchi would be escorting him to a safe place. The scholar asked, “Is the circumstance so perilous?”

Young answered, “It seems it will be,” and went on to assure him that the other scholars had also been greeted and escorted to safety.

The elder scholar said, “I had thought that, since a new king is coming, if nothing should happen, there is no hope. But if change comes, it will come with blood. I feel sorry for you as a warrior, you must slay until you are slain.”

Young didn’t reply but simply bowed to the scholar as another Woodalchi escorted him off. Looking after the scholar, he mulled over what the elder had said to him. On the one hand, he thought the scholar was naive; it wasn’t just in war he’d had to put his life on the line. There were always enemies of one type or another threatening the King. He’d had to kill some of those enemies, and he didn’t expect that to stop regardless of the outcome of the current struggle. On the other hand, the scholar had thrown into high relief the nearness to death that Young lived with that others, such as Eun-soo and the scholar, did not. It led some warriors to live recklessly when they weren’t fighting: drinking, whoring, whatever they could do to feel they were living life to the fullest before death came for them in a battle. For Young, his life had been focused on death, both inflicting it and being haunted by it. But that was beginning to change.

Unconcerned at the moment with her own philosophy of life, Eun-soo was taking a break from her misdirection discussions. Followed by two of the Queen’s warrior maidens, she strolled in the gardens of the palace compound. She had asked the attendants to stand a little way apart from her so she could take a walk alone. She came to a zig-zag bridge over a koi pond, and began to cross it. The zig-zag shape of the bridge was said to prevent evil spirits from crossing. The weather was warm, and she thought the air was amazingly fresh to breathe, especially compared to the smoggy air of modern Seoul. She sat down on one of the flat stone railings in the middle of the bridge, just enjoying being alive.

Suddenly a masculine voice said from the pavilion behind her, “What are you doing here?” Startled out of her reverie, she turned to see Young. She smiled, glad to see him, and told him she hadn’t even heard his footsteps. Before talking with her he asked where her guards were and she pointed them out, at some distance from her. She had asked them to give her some privacy. He changed the subject, telling her he had heard about their misdirection campaign. She asked him if it had been helpful in protecting the scholars. But he was more concerned about any harm coming to her as a result of her lies about the scholars. He said, “Even if I try to stop you, you would continue, right? Doing what you want.”

She replied in her lively way, “How are you always so serious, worrying all the time? That’s not healthy, so don’t.” She ended by slapping him on the chest in a humorous reproof, still smiling at him. But he stayed somber; they were playing a very deadly game with Ki Chul. Trying to lighten his mood she showed him her new outfit and twirled, saying, “Look at this! The Queen gave it to me…how is it? Do I look like a Goryeo person?” He was struck by how beautiful and alive she looked, but quickly pushed the thought away, clearing his throat. Feeling alive again was sometimes troublesome.

She sat down on a bench in the pavilion and asked, “How’s this place?”

“What?”

She explained, continuing to smile broadly, “In my world, partners, after they finish the day’s work, they go to a bar and drink together. But since there’s no bar inside the palace, let’s do it here. Every day, around this hour. Once a day, we meet here.”

He wasn’t sure what she had in mind, but she went on to explain that they’d talk about each other’s concerns, what they’d do next, and cheer each other on. She didn’t tell him this, but she also liked the idea of seeing him every day. He told her he would be busy for awhile.

She suddenly turned serious, recognizing how much he had to do, and that she had even helped make him a target of the assassins. “I know. I told everyone, ‘There’s only one who knows it all, and that’s the Woodalchi General.’”

He smiled at her, “I heard you played your part well.” She asked if he was going to fight the assassins all alone. He continued smiling to reassure her, saying that the odds were with him if he waited for them to come to him. She nodded, not happy but understanding the necessity.

Then he asked her to roll up her skirt and he knelt in front of her, and took one of her ankles in his hand. She cried out, asking him what he was doing while she leaned over and rested one hand on his shoulder to keep her balance. He told her to stay put for a bit and he tied something around her lower leg, just above her ankle.

She looked down and cried, “That…That’s a knife!” Looking up at her, he asked her to draw it out of its sheathe. She pulled it out and held it out distastefully by the end of the handle. “What do you want me to do with _this_?” Standing up again, he told her to use it when she was in danger. Surprised, she told him, “Look, I’m a doctor! You want me to stab someone?”

He calmly replied, “Use it in an emergency. You can treat them later if you want.” At her skeptical look, he reminded her, “You did that to me, too.”

When she in turn reminded him that he had told her not to use a knife if she didn’t know how to use it, he said he’d teach her how to use a knife to defend herself. “I don’t know if I can come every day. But if I come, we’ll do it here.” She was still put off by the idea of using a knife, but perhaps she could learn.

Before Young left, he returned to the topic of her guards, cautioning her to keep them within three steps of her. Otherwise it would be hard for them to safeguard her. When he turned to leave, she called to him, “Hey!” When he turned back to her, she smiled and waved, saying in a soft voice, “Take care.” He gave her a brief but disarmingly sweet smile. She watched his back as he left, more concerned about him confronting the assassins than she had let on.

The next place Young went was to the Suribang headquarters. As he came in, the Manbo sister was taking a bottle of wine from her brother, telling him to stop drinking and that his nose was already red. But he took the bottle back and drank more from his cup. Overhearing this, Young smiled, enjoying their banter. He sat down across from them, and his pledged uncle asked him if he was sure the assassins were only after him. He told them he thought so, and his pledged aunt told him that taking on seven of them was a lot for one person, even for him. They would do their best to reduce the odds, so only one at a time would attack him. But they would do it stealthily; they didn’t want to become a target of assassins themselves. Listening to them, Young smiled broadly, and his uncle asked, “Hey, what’s so happy that you’re smiling like that?”

“Even though you don’t say it, you two are glad you can help me, right?” She started to deny it and tell him how much trouble he caused them, but he quickly replied while shaking his finger at them in mock admonition, “Be honest. You were bored before! Tired of making money for nothing!” His uncle joined in, saying he could just drink happily without all this fuss, but Young continued smiling, pointing at him and saying, “I can tell you’re excited, it’s obvious.”

His uncle told him he deserved to be put in a pickling jar and left, while his aunt said, I’ll give you a bowl of rice, so stuff yourself first before you go. You’re going to be fighting all night. You need energy so you can win.” The uncle shouted at her that they needed to get going, and she complained about him while getting up from her bench. Young chuckled, enjoying that odd combination of argument and care they gave him every time he was with them. Then his smile slowly faded as he thought about the coming fight.

Eun-soo, meanwhile, was in the Queen’s area of the palace, getting a lesson in taking someone’s pulse from Dr. Jang. He told her there were 24 types of pulse, depending on its speed and strength, how it changed as she took the pulse, and how it felt. For example, did it feel like a bead rolling or like a bamboo scratch? Then they both heard a commotion and got up to look. It was Ki Chul, who said he had come to pay a visit to the High Doctor. The warrior maidens had stopped him with their swords out. He saw her and asked how she was doing. But she only hid behind Dr. Jang, just peeking over his shoulder. Dr. Jang frowned and told him, “This is the Queen’s dwelling. Why have you come here?” 

Ki Chul said he had heard she had been spreading knowledge of heaven and the future. But she wouldn’t give him that information whether he treated her well or frightened her. He ended with a question to her, “So what am I supposed to do?”

She replied, “I already said it. Return my diary, and then we can talk.”

Just then the Queen came out of her chambers, shouting, “What is this noise?!” Ki Chul greeted her courteously, but she was having none of it. Without returning his greeting, she scolded her guards, asking how his rude entry had been possible. A few Woodalchi guards, having been informed of his arrival, also came there and told Ki Chul that the King wanted to see him.

Before he left with the soldiers, Ki Chul told Eun-soo that perhaps they had gotten started on a bad footing, and that next time he’d arrange a better meeting. It was hard for her to tell if that was a concession or a threat. Eun-soo asked the Queen if she knew why he had come there, and the Queen said it was hard to know, that he was like a snake.

Entering the throne room, Ki Chul encountered an angry King, who told him, “I see that my palace is like your courtyard now.” He asked the King not to be angry with him, but the King scowled at him and went on, “Are you here to check if there’s anyone else you can kill?” Ki Chul assured him that he was only there to see if the High Doctor was well. But in reality he had also come for another purpose.

The King asked, “When will you accept it? Around me, there is no one who will bend to your threats.” But the Prince of the Court asked the King if he was certain of that. Smiling, he went on to add that the Woodalchi General was currently occupied cleaning up the mess after the King’s grand talk. He might be very loyal but would eventually get tired of doing that. And the High Doctor would eventually see who could best protect her. The King replied that now he knew why Ki Chul had come there, to sow doubt and confusion.

But Ki Chul wasn’t done. He chuckled as he added a last barb, “My sister, the Empress of Yuan, sent me words asking whether the newly ascended king is worth serving or whether Goryeo needs a better king.” The King’s eyes widened as the other man spoke, but that was the only sign he gave of misgiving. Ki Chul smirked and then bowed to the King, who angrily dismissed him.

Because the King tended to be very serious and often questioned his own judgement and actions, the Queen was searching for a way to lighten his mood. She went to his study area with Lady and a few other attendants, and found Do-chi preparing ink for the King’s later use. She told Do-chi that she’d do it, and Lady Choi helped her remove her elaborate jacket, so only her dress would get stained if any ink spilled. She began tidying up the King’s desk and sat down, using long wooden blocks to smooth the paper for drawing. While doing that, she asked Lady Choi to tell her what normal women do to cheer up their husbands. Lady Choi had never married, so she wasn’t sure either, and both she and Queen turned to Do-chi, who was married. The other women attendants were listening carefully as well. He told them that his wife set him a drinking table, and then when prompted about whether that would improve the King’s mood, told her that it wasn’t only being offered alcohol. He started to say that after a few drinks then…and his eyes widened as he realized where he was going with his speech. He dropped to his knees and cried, “Please forgive me, I cannot answer any further!”

The Queen turned to Lady Choi, wondering what was wrong. Lady Choi scolded Do-chi, “What is the big deal about answering her? You’re upsetting her! After a few drinks, what do you do?”

Do-chi reluctantly said, “She and I…” he paused, and then blurted out, “go to bed together.” He bowed his head down in embarrassment to have said that to the Queen. The Queen was absorbing this information when the King arrived and walked in to see the Queen at his desk and Do-chi huddled on his knees beside it. The Queen quickly stood up as he asked, “Did something happen?”

She didn’t answer him but hurriedly left his office with her attendants, Lady Choi only saying, “Your Majesty,” as they rushed out.

He turned to Do-chi and asked him to tell him what had happened, but all Do-chi said was, “Your Majesty, your subject deserves death!” The King eventually pried it out of him, smiling to himself that the Queen would inquire about how to lighten his mood.

Just as Ki Chul had earlier instructed them, Hwa Su-in and Eum-ja had traveled to another city, looking for someone. They found the man sitting on a bench reading a book. He was very handsome, with a trimmed mustache and beard. His hair was short around his face but very long in back. Part of it was done in a top-knot and the rest hung down over his shoulders. It was said that, although he lived in a temple like a monk, he greatly enjoyed the company of women and often visited gisaeng houses. She inquired, “Are you Prince Hyung?” When he didn’t respond, she sat down next to him and told him, “We are sent from the house of Prince of the Court from Deokseong. We sent word ahead of us. Did you receive it?” The Prince only yawned and looked up as Eum-ja added, “We received an order to escort you, My Lord.” They inquired about whether he rode horses or if they needed to obtain a carriage, but he only recited a poem:

_“Surrounded by mountains and waters._

_A village appears after the trees._

_You might feel lost surrounded by mountains and waters._

_But you always find a way after the trees.”_

Then he laughed, stood up and walked away. Baffled, Eum-ja asked his pledged sister what the Prince had just said, and she laughed as well; accompanying him back to back to Gae Kyeong would make for an interesting trip.

The Suribang had been able to divert at least some of the Chisal from attacking all at once, using the young spearman dressed like Young as a decoy. In fact, the young archer had killed one of them as he followed the spearman. So just six remained. But Young still expected to have to fight more than one of them at some point; he just hoped he didn’t have to fight all of them at the same time. He walked toward a pavilion where some of them had been told he’d be. He was on edge, pumped full of adrenaline, his eyes and ears straining for any unusual motion or sound. He stepped in and went down a covered walkway toward the center of the open building. In his mind’s eye he saw one approaching and dispensed with him. This type of rehearsal was second nature to him and was part of why he had survived for so long. But almost immediately after that mental review, three of the assassins came at him for real. In a move so fast the eye couldn’t follow it, he twirled, sweeping his sword in a wide arc across two of them and then, at the end of the arc, stabbing the third between his ribs. He pulled his sword out as the last assassin fell. He said to himself, “Three.”

He soon made his way to an unoccupied workshop where another assassin had been told he’d be. Knowing at least one of them had to be waiting for him, he began talking as he entered. “Why don’t we just end it here? You’re doing it for money. If you die, it’s all useless.” Splatters of blood from the first three Chisal were on his face, and he sat down with a heavy sigh to wait for the assassin’s attack. He took his sword out, placing it on his lap, and continued speaking to the hidden assassin, “ I know someone…To her the most important thing in this world…” he smiled, thinking of her spirit, “…is living. But neither you nor I know what that is.” His smiled died on his lips. “To us, living is merely not dying. That’s all.” His face softened again as he went on, “But not for her. She really is alive, and very lively at that.” The assassin suddenly came at him from behind and to the side. Young had heard him coming and stabbed sideways without rising from where he sat, killing the man. He was breathing heavily, having put all of his strength into each sword thrust. When he got his breath back, he continued talking, but now to himself, “So, whenever I see her, I start to wonder, ’Wait…what am I doing?’” He looked over at the dead man next to him and gently closed his eyelids, saying, “Four.”

Young stayed in the deserted workshop, waiting to see if any other assassins would arrive. It had begun raining, and the workshop’s roof had many leaks, some of which didn’t just drip but flowed in small streams down to the floor. In one of those streams Young was washing a mix of an assassin’s and his own blood from his right hand, his main sword hand, while he held his sword in his left hand. Another man suddenly dropped through a hole in the roof to attack him. But Young was almost as good with his left hand as his right. As he turned, he swept the sword across the assassin’s throat. When the man fell, he said, “Five.” His face and clothes had been spattered with more blood and he was panting from his exertions. His sword even felt heavy in his hand. He washed a little blood off of his sword in the rain and was attacked yet again, the attacker hoping he was tired and distracted enough to kill. But Young, with the last of his energy and acting on instinct borne of years of experience, was able to kill him. That was the sixth one. As soon as the man hit the ground, Young dropped his sword, letting it clatter to the ground. His right shoulder and hand hadn’t finished healing from being frozen by Ki Chul; they ached and throbbed fiercely. In addition, one of the assassins had left a gash on that same forearm. He grabbed his bloody right arm with his left. In pain and utterly exhausted as the adrenaline in his system began to wear off, he almost fell against a post and slid down it to sit huddled there, almost unconscious, while it continued to rain.


	25. Episode 13, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King's uncle tries to entice Eun-soo with the notebook she wants to read. Eun-soo meets the Suribang leaders. The Queen sets a table of drinks for the King.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

While Young fought the assassins, Eun-soo was going about her own business, taking her pulse to follow up on Dr. Jang’s training, and enjoying the palace garden. Later she practiced with the knife the General had given to her for self-defense. While practicing she heard someone say, “Are you the heavenly doctor?” She turned to see a very handsome man approaching her. He was dressed plainly in a long blue tunic. Her guards quickly moved in front of her, blocking him from coming any closer. She asked who he was, and he introduced himself as Prince Deok Hyung, the King’s uncle. He asked if it was true that she came from heaven. He also said he’d been told she’d be happy to see something, as he took her notebook out of his robe and held it up. One of her guards took it from him and handed it to her. She gripped the precious book and asked him if the Prince of the Court from Deokseong gave that to him.

He answered with a smile, “That is so.”

She immediately became wary. “Then…you are on the same side as that Prince of the Court or whatever. What did he say as he gave you this? He wouldn’t have said to just give it to me.”

“That’s right, he didn’t say that. Just to…” and he took the book back from her and held it away when she tried to grasp it again, “Show that I have it. Then you would come with me if I do.”

Disgusted, she told him, “Why do you people play with a person?” And turned to leave.

As a scholar he was curious and asked her what the book was. Why was it so important? But she’d had enough and told him he didn’t need to know. She added, “Go tell Ki Chul that I don’t need it and to stop playing with me. And you! Get out! This isn’t a place just anyone can come in.” Once again she turned to leave.

He called to her again, saying, I’m told you’re from heaven. You save people and you see the future, too. You’re not going to follow me when I have this?” She just laughed scornfully and left for good this time. He looked after her, surprised by her reaction, and chuckled ruefully.

After his encounters with the assassins, Young had washed most of the blood off so he wouldn’t reek of it. Once he had rested a bit, he came to the pavilion in the palace garden to keep his word about meeting with Eun-soo. He was still very tired, and his entire right arm continued to ache, from the shoulder to the hand. He didn’t see her, so he sat down to rest on the zig-zag bridge, resting his head on his other arm. Sometime later he finally found her in a raised gazebo nearby, giving homemade toothpaste to some of the Woodalchi and warrior maidens. They were having a bit of a party as they socialized while she told them to use it along with the twigs with which they cleaned their teeth. But as soon as Deok-man spied him and said, “General!” They all came to immediate attention.

Disapproving of this frivolity when their fate was so uncertain, their General asked, “What are you guys doing? And Assistant General, you!” speaking to Choon-sik. They told him they were off guard duty, but that made no impression on him. He told them, “If you’re off-duty, then get some sleep and recharge your energy!” Rebuked, all of the warriors quickly scrambled down the steps from the gazebo and left, leaving Eun-soo behind.

She was relieved to see him and thought he must have some kind of injury; he was irritable and besides, no one fought off professional killers without getting hurt somewhere. She told him with a smile, “Your room’s that way, I heard. Let’s go.” She walked down to him and reached for his sword arm to look at it. He put that arm behind him, but she looked around him and saw blood on his wrist. The gash was deep and had continued to ooze. She simply looked at him with an “Aha!” look and then started toward the Woodalchi barracks. He followed reluctantly.

She walked into his room saying, “So this is the General’s room. It’s very small.” She smiled, learning a little more about him as she looked around. The room was spartan with a narrow bed, a small table, a few cupboards for clothes and two chests, one large and one small, that held his personal effects. There was a large drawing with a map of Goryeo on one wall. She told him to have a seat, but he walked by her, telling her he had to go see the King and would have to change clothes, so she should leave. But their relationship had changed since the last time she wanted to examine him. She now had much more influence with him as well as with the King and Queen. Pointing to a chair at the small table, she told him in a commanding voice, “Sit right here, in front of me!” When he looked at her skeptically, she told him she needed for him to be close so she could examine him. He was about to argue when she asked him if he wanted her to get an order from the Queen to examine him whenever she needed to. Resigned, he gave in and sat down at the table while she gave him a satisfied smile. She reached for his sword hand, asking him how his hand was from Ki Chul’s freezing power. He pulled it away, saying it was fine. It was still difficult for him to let someone see his injuries and care for them. But with only a little hesitation on his part, she got him to loosen the bindings on his sleeve so she could see the gash. She told him she’d have to stitch it and asked about any other wounds, including those he had received in his battle with Ki Chul. He told her they were just scratches. They weren’t just scratches, but he had been attending to them with his inner power, and they were well on their way to healing. When she poured stinging disinfectant on his wound, he winced briefly, but showed little reaction as she proceeded to stitch it up. She marveled aloud at how well he tolerated the pain, when in Gangnam people needed all kinds of pain killers.

The taciturn Young almost never spoke about his feelings, but he showed them in his actions, watching over and protecting. So while she stitched, he told her that it was now safe for her to return to her quarters at the Royal Medical Office. When she inquired about the assassins, he assured her that they were no longer a concern. He also told her that he had sent some men to monitor heaven’s gate and report back if any strange energy should occur. He said they could get a dwelling near the gate and wait, but that made him uneasy; it would be too vulnerable a position. She nodded, understanding the risk. His last caring thought came as she headed for the door of his room to leave. He noticed she had a slight limp. When he asked her about it, she told him it was the knife he had tied to her leg; it was heavy. He decided he’d need to do something about that. After she left, he looked after her for a time. She was impudent and intruded on him regularly, and he found himself liking it.

Accompanied by her two warrior maidens again, Eun-soo returned to the palace garden. She leaned on a railing and thought about her situation. She was starting to accept the idea of being in Goryeo for an unknown amount of time and found herself looking with new eyes at this world, wanting to learn more about it and appreciating what it had to offer. She hadn’t admitted it to herself yet, but she was coming to care for the people she’d met. She realized she’d feel sad to leave this place when the time came to return through the portal. Then she stood up, smiled broadly and turned to her two maiden warriors, asking them their names and formally introducing herself. She had been thinking about what she could do in Goryeo, and she asked them to tell her what they did for skin care.

Young washed and changed into his gray armor, then went to the throne room, approached the King and knelt before him. Immensely relieved to see his General, the King said, “You came back safe. I’ve waited impatiently.” Young told him he had changed clothes before coming there, but the King told him he didn’t have to do that; he could visit him without those courtesies. Then the King reached down and took Young’s arm to lift him up to a standing position. Young looked shocked for a moment, then they both smiled at each other, friends as well as subject and King.

They adjourned to the King’s chambers along with Lady Choi in order to talk more privately. The King asked if Ki Chul had given up on killing the scholars. Young told him that was evidently the case, because the assassins hadn’t sought information from him; they just tried to kill him. Then the General assured the King that he’d bring the scholars to court, but that the King would need to protect them once they arrived there. The King agreed to do so. But Lady Choi was still uneasy. If Ki Chul had given up on killing the scholars, she thought he must have something else in mind. As the King pondered what that might be, Young opined that the King would need to decide on strategies and that he, the General, would see to security. But Lady Choi rebuked him for being impudent to the King, it wasn’t his place to assign roles. He quickly apologized. The King smiled; Lady Choi was the only person outside of the King and Queen who could rebuke the General and receive an immediate apology.

The King’s uncle had returned to Ki Chul’s mansion from his brief meeting with the High Doctor. Ki Chul asked him what he thought of her. He said she was an intriguing woman, and Ki Chul agreed, adding that she was good at surprising them all. The Prince was curious about why Ki Chul had brought him there from his mountain temple. Was it only to meet her? The other man assured him there was more to it than that; he wanted him to help bring her to him. He he went on to say that there was a loyal guard that protected both the King and the Doctor, and the King quite trusted him. The Prince asked, “Why not just get rid of him?” Ki Chul told him he would, but the most important goal was to gain the Doctor’s heart. Hearing that, the Prince laughed, thinking that would be easy; he considered himself quite the ladies’ man. Ki Chul smiled along with him but then said that she wasn’t just another woman. She had a superpower and wouldn’t give it up unless he had her heart. The Prince asked, “So you want me to capture her heart? What if I’m successful?” Ki Chul told him he could have anything he wanted. That suited the Prince just fine.

The Woodalchi were meeting in order to prepare for the upcoming court session where the new advisors would be introduced. Young outlined the specifics for the palace. They’d have archers on the roof, guards every few steps in the corridors and even guards on the floor under the throne room. Dol-bae asked if they expected more assassins, and Young shoved Dol-bae’s forehead back with his hand, asking “How would I know? Are they going to courteously let me know they’re coming?” Ju-seok was in charge of accompanying the scholars, and he told Young there would be two guards for every scholar. But he was concerned they wouldn’t have enough guards in the court itself. Young told him he’d take care of it. He ended by telling them that their job was to ensure that not even a rat could get into the court. Ju-seok replied that not even an ant would get in. Young cracked a smile at that and left.

After his meeting, Young changed to more casual clothes and went into town to visit his pledged aunt and uncle. They had been providing lodging, food and clothing to the scholars while they were in hiding. They were sitting at a table peeling large nuts, and Young sat with his back to them, observing the nearby marketplace while they talked. They wanted to have five carriages of goods in the next caravan that went to the King, but he replied only, “Two.” His uncle chided him for being rude to his senior. He replied again, “Two,” as he reached back for one of the peeled nuts, but his aunt slapped his hand away, telling him that their expenses warranted five. Again he said, “Two,” and tried again for a nut, and this time she let him have one. Her brother said he didn’t seem to understand, and she said perhaps they should just abandon the scholars. Young replied with a mouth full of nut, “Then abandon them in the court.” His uncle complained that he was a tougher negotiator than they were. Ignoring that, Young told them to mobilize their peddlers and hawkers to help protect the scholars on their way to court. He stood up to leave while grabbing one last nut.

His pledged aunt tried once more, “So we should have five carriages.”

Over his shoulder he called, “Two.”

She called back, “Three.” But he was already gone.

Dae-man ran up to Young as he was walking back to the palace, and told him that Eun-soo was in the market looking at medicines. That was worrisome because it was very difficult to protect someone in the middle of a crowd. Young asked about her female guards and was told they were with her. He decided to check on her himself. Meanwhile, she was sniffing a pressed oval of powdered green tea and liking the scent. She was commenting to herself that she’d need some of that when the Manbo siblings approached her. With their broad network they knew who she was. The brother took the bundle from her and her guards drew their swords, but he hastened to tell them that the bundle she had wasn’t the best one. He offered to give her another one, nervously eyeing their swords. The guards still had their swords out when Young arrived. Eun-soo inadvertently backed into him and cried, “Oh!” as she whirled around and saw it was him.

He asked her, “What are you doing?” She started to explain, but his pledged aunt interrupted, saying with a knowing smile, “Choi Young, she’s extremely pretty.”

Her brother added, “Her appearance is definitely from heaven!” Once her guards calmed down, Eun-soo arranged for some of the products to be delivered to her. She and Young began walking back to the palace. She explained to him that she would make soap and cosmetics and distribute them for free. And then once people used them, she’d start to sell them.

Young asked, “You’re going to earn money?” It surprised him, who cared nothing for money or goods. Nevertheless he enjoyed seeing her so excited.

She went on to tell him, “I’ll sell to the nobles and rich ladies. It will be so successful! I’ll become a rich person! I even have a sales strategy!” As they walked along, Young listened, smiling and occasionally chuckling while Eun-soo talked.

The Manbo siblings observed them from a nearby roof. The brother said, “Did you see that? Young is smiling.” His sister agreed, adding that he was smiling like a living person instead of the dark ghost he’d been.

Walking along together, Young suddenly stopped and put out his hand to stop Eun-soo as well. They were being approached by one of the King’s advisors and a man Young didn’t know. Ignoring Young, Prince Hyung addressed Eun-soo, saying, “We meet again,” and inclined his head to her. Now he was dressed in clothes more suited to his station, wearing a brown robe with embroidered lapels over a silk shirt, together with a necklace of semi-precious stones. He wore a silver decorative piece over the top knot on his head. She returned his greeting. Young still didn’t know who he was, so he turned to the advisor accompanying him, the same advisor who’d called for his execution in open court. “Aren’t you Lord Ja-won? Who is this person?” Ja-won told him not to be rude and that he should show the other man courtesy. The Prince looked at Young for the first time and said, “Are you the Woodalchi that guards the High Doctor?”

Instead of directly answering, Young asked Eun-soo, “Is this someone you know?” She replied that he had told her he was the King’s uncle, and Ja-won added that he was Prince Deok Hyung. Upon hearing that, Young bowed to him as a member of the royal family.

Accepting Young’s bow with a superior smile, the Prince addressed Eun-soo again. “You came out for an excursion? I am also browsing around, as it’s been quite some time since I was in Gae Kyeong. Would you like to browse some more? May I accompany you on your walk?” All the while he talked, Young stared at him, on edge. He briefly looked around and spotted Eum-ja and Hwa Su-in nearby. It was clear to him who had brought the Prince to the capital. His gaze returned to the Prince, and it was not a friendly gaze. Eun-soo demurred, telling the Prince that they were on their way home.

Then she grasped Young’s sleeve and tugged on it, telling him, “Let’s go.” Young bowed his head briefly to the Prince and they left.

Once they’d left the Prince behind, Young stopped and turned to Eun-soo, motioning Dae-man and her guard to stand away. He asked her when she had met the Prince, and she told him it was a few days ago. He said, “Why didn’t you tell me?” When she hesitated, he told Dae-man to go tell Lady Choi right away, that Prince Hyung was staying at the Prince of the Court’s house. Then he told her maiden warrior in a commanding voice, “From now on, report everything the Doctor does and says to me or Lady Choi, without leaving anything out!”

Eun-soo objected, “Hey, wait a minute.”

But he stepped up to her, very close, and reminded her, “You said we would talk about everything, that we would have that kind of relationship. What did he talk to you about?” When she hesitated again, he explained, “Imja, this is extremely important, something the King has to know!” Then she told him that the Prince had shown her the notebook and taunted her with it, so she told him to forget it and to get lost.

He asked her, “But why didn’t you tell me?”

She replied defiantly, “If I were to tell you, you’d start feeling responsible for it, and go after that book, wouldn’t you? That’s why I didn’t tell you!” Then she turned and stomped off. But after just a few steps she suddenly stopped, turned around and went the other way. When he looked in the direction she first tried to go, he saw Hwa Su-in and Eum-ja again, lurking not far away. Hwa Su-in smiled at him in her flirtatious way as she and her pledged brother left the area.

Dae-man dutifully reported to Lady Choi that the Prince was the guest of Ki Chul. She heard his whispered news with apparent calm, showing no change in her facial expression, saying only, “I understand.” Then she made her way to the Queen’s chambers. Talking to the Queen pleasantly about Eun-soo’s trip to the market and how she planned to make skin products, she wrote the news on a sheet of paper for the Queen to read, so the spy standing outside the Queen's quarters wouldn’t know they had been alerted. They both thought that the Prince must have been brought there to threaten the King. Aloud, the Queen asked Lady Choi to prepare a drinking table for that evening so she could entertain the King. The Queen wanted to talk to the King privately about this new danger.

In the evening, Young returned to meet with the Manbo siblings. He wanted to learn more about Prince Hyung. Walking together among the market stalls, they told him that the Prince was the son of King Chungseon [Gongmin’s grandfather] and a concubine. He had left the palace with his mother as a small boy. He had kept an extremely low profile all these years, wandering from temple to temple. That was the main reason he was still alive; alternative heirs to a throne usually met a bad end. Now he was the only remaining royalty other than the current King. His pledged uncle went on to tell him that he had actually seen the Prince while on his travels as a merchant. He had gone to deliver something to a gisaeng house and was told that a Prince was there, and that he was really good at sweet-talking women. Taking a peek for himself, he saw the Prince dressed in a monk’s robe, surrounded by gisaengs and playing baduk [Go]. While Young listened to his uncle, he also examined some knives for sale. He bought a small one with a red handle for Eun-soo.

Meanwhile, an excited Ki Chul presented the Prince with papers documenting his new position as Pyeongjang Minister, which would allow the Prince to participate in Goryeo state affairs. The position was appointed by the Emperor of Yuan, so the King could not easily dismiss him. Ki Chul was quite proud of himself, but the Prince paid no attention, continuing to read a book. When Ki Chul asked him what he thought about the position, he replied that he had no thought, and that was the secret method that had kept him alive: to have no thoughts. If Ki Chul wanted him to say something, he should write it and the Prince would memorize and deliver it. Then the Prince almost casually asked if he intended to replace the King and put him on the throne instead. Ki Chul admitted that was his thought and asked him what kind of a king he wanted to be. The Prince replied that he wanted to be a king that survived a long time. That fit with Ki Chul’s desires perfectly. Now he just had to make that happen.

At the palace, Lady Choi had gone to the King’s apartments to convey the Queen’s invitation. She told the King that the Queen was setting a drinking table for him. Hearing that, Do-chi’s jaw dropped and he dropped the papers he was holding as well. The King looked over at him and Lady Choi hid a smile, remembering how embarrassed Do-chi had been when explaining how his wife typically improved his mood.

That evening the King came to the Queen’s apartment followed by an attendant carrying gift boxes. Inside her apartment, they looked at each other a little shyly; this was the first time the Queen had asked him to come there. Outside her chamber, Lady Choi instructed the warrior maidens to maintain at least 12 steps from the room and to close their ears to anything inside. They were to stay alert only toward people on the outside. She made sure the spy was stationed furthest from the Queen’s chamber and unable to hear any conversation inside.

The attendant left and the royal couple sat down together, the Queen talking about the threat presented by the King’s uncle. The King said he had already heard about it from Young. The Queen offered to contact her family to have someone approach the Emperor of Yuan on their behalf. He could stop Ki Chul’s machinations if he chose to. She pleaded with the King to let her help. As before, the King had no intention of requesting anything from Yuan, but this time he felt her earnest concern for him. Rather than rebuking her, he began to present his gifts. He opened a box to reveal two enameled hairpins and asked if they were to her liking. But she was still focused on Yuan. Then he placed a red gift box in front of her and asked if she remembered what was inside. She opened it to find the gauzy blue veil with white embroidery on it that she had often worn when talking to him in Yuan. There was a time in Yuan when she had left it behind while fleeing from him and an attendant, knowing the attendant would have recognized her with or without the veil. The King had picked up the veil and had treasured it as a memento of the woman he had come to love. He had kept it all this time.

The King began to speak about the times that they had met in secret when they were in Yuan, and how she had known who he was, but he had not known her identity. He had thought her a Goryeo woman and even asked her to marry him, so that a Goryeo woman would be his first wife. He told her that he had thought a lot about why she hadn’t told him who she was, and she replied that she couldn’t tell him. She left unsaid the reason why, but he knew it. He had told her of his hatred for all things Yuan, and how he was being forced to marry a Yuan princess.

He sat down next to her and took her hand, telling her that even though he was a King now, he didn’t have much in the way of possessions, power or people. The only possession he had was a boring old principle: to resist Yuan and safeguard his nation. Then she too understood that he could never receive help from Yuan; it would violate that principle. Then he added, “I have already broken it. I vowed that I would not embrace a Yuan woman in my heart. No matter how I tried to resist, I couldn’t. Because she had already entered my heart, and I could not send her out, I treated her that much more coldly. You can see I’m very weak. Would you be by my side and help me, so I don’t break my principle a second time?” She was so touched by his confession of love for her that a tear began to roll down her cheek. The King gently reached over and wiped it away. They could at last repair their relationship. The King did not emerge from the Queen’s chambers until the next day.


	26. Episode 13, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King welcomes his new advisors to court. Choi Young "advises" the King's uncle to give the notebook to Eun-soo to study. Young is accused of taking a bribe.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

On the morning of the court session, the Woodalchi received a delivery at their barracks. Three men brought in a large, heavy box and set it down, one of them telling Dol-bae that it contained spears and swords sent from the forge. When he opened the box, that was indeed what was in it, but Dol-bae hadn’t heard of any order for new weapons. The man explained that they only were hired to bring the box there. Dol-bae called to the other Woodalchi, asking who was in charge of forge-dealings, but no one answered. Most of them, along with the General, were already out and about, arriving at their guard stations or beginning to escort the scholars to court. The delivery man also handed a red lacquered box to Dol-bae, saying it was for the Woodalchi General. He said to tell the General that he had brought what he had asked for. Dol-bae nodded and gave the box to Deok-man, who in turn took it into the General’s quarters and left it on a table.

Later that morning, the court advisors began to assemble in the throne room. Ki Chul, his brother, Won, and their loyal advisor, Ja-won sat near the front of the room in their accustomed chairs. As he walked to court, the King saw the Queen and her retinue waiting for them. The Queen would not be attending the session, but she had nevertheless dressed in her court attire to show her respect and good wishes for her husband. They all bowed to the King, and the King noticed that she was wearing the hairpins he had given her. He smiled reassuringly at her and then entered the throne room.

After the King stood on the dais, Young and Dae-man entered, followed by the group of scholars he had recruited. The scholars walked up the main aisle to the King and bowed. Their leader, Teacher Ikjae, said, “I and the other scholars of literature arrive at Your Majesty’s summons.” Then they knelt on all fours before the King. He addressed them, “Your path coming here was not easy, but I am very happy and grateful. Please raise your faces, I wish to become familiar with them.” The scholars sat back on their heels, looking up at the King. After a few moments, he indicated they should take their seats, which waited for them on the opposite side of the throne room from most of his current advisors. Then the King, with Young standing next to him, addressed everyone, “Today, before the statesmen and scholars, I intend to settle a few state affairs. I wish for you to watch and judge if I am doing well and teach me.”

Prince Hyung and Yang-sa were also making their way to court, a little late so the Prince could make an entrance. On their way they encountered Eun-soo and Dr. Jang. They greeted each other briefly and went on about their business. Dr. Jang asked Eun-soo what she knew about the Prince from Heaven’s records. She replied that he wasn’t mentioned, at least not in her textbooks, so there was probably no need to worry about him.

The King had some surprises in store for his court. He opened a scroll and addressed Ki Won, telling him that he was dismissed from his office, and then did the same to Ja-won. Shocked, Ki Chul's brother asked why, and the King replied that neither of them had done their jobs since he had become King. Won had only come to his office twice in several months, and Ja-won, as the royal inspector, had conducted no inspections. They were dismissed for dereliction of duty. Then the King pointed to a group of scrolls naming others who were to be dismissed from their office and the reasons for their dismissal. He asked his attendants to distribute a copy to each person named. He went on to say that, since numerous positions had just been vacated, he intended to make new appointments to those positions. At that point a surprised Ki Chul stood and addressed the King. He told the King that there was a separate office that managed court personnel, and if the King wanted to dismiss or appoint someone, he needed to go through that office. But the King interrupted him, saying that he had abolished that office just that morning; he would be handling court personnel directly. Furious, Ki Chul realized he had been outmaneuvered yet again by this upstart young King. Then the King opened a new scroll and began reading the appointments he was making to fill the vacated offices. He started by appointing Teacher Ikjae to the highest position and opened the next scroll.

Just then the Prince Hyung finally made his appearance, walking up to the King and bowing his head. He said to the King, “We are uncle and nephew in name, but this is the first time we are meeting. You’ve become the new King and you are doing new work, so I ran here to help.”

The King had prepared for this. With a somewhat cautious smile, he replied, “I did hear and was aware of your coming. If you are speaking from your heart, I will be very thankful.” He pointed to an empty seat to his left, saying, “There is Uncle’s seat, as I know it. Is that right?”

But Prince Hyung simply commented that the action of the King to abolish the court personnel office had actually been put forward by the Prince’s father. He asked if the King was aware of that, and the King said he was. The Prince replied, “Ah, so you copied him.” In that way the Prince sought to belittle the King’s action and was already drawing a battle line. The King finished making his new appointments and ended the court session, discomfited that yet another enemy had appeared through Ki Chul’s machinations. And this one could pose a significant threat to him.

That evening Young came to the palace to check on the King. The court session had been a significant victory but had been tarnished by the entrance of the Prince. He was told the King was alone in the throne room, and that the King had said he was not to be disturbed. Knowing how the King could be afflicted with doubts, Young gave his sword to the nearest Woodalchi, dared to go in and then stood silently, waiting for the King to recognize him. The King had his back to him, staring at the throne. There was little light in the room, the darkness reflecting the King’s mood. The King turned to him with a question. Did Young become his person in order to keep his vow to the High Doctor? In other words, to keep his vow to return her, he had to fight Ki Chul, and for the power to do that he chose the King. The King was asking him if he was first or second in Young’s priorities.

Young honestly but tactfully replied, “Does the order matter?”

The King smiled ruefully and told him, “I feel tempted. If I were to give High Doctor to Prince of the Court, all of this might be solved. However, if I did so, Choi Young, you’d leave me. You won’t serve a king who doesn’t keep his word.” Young looked at him without responding; he didn’t need to, because what the King said was true and they both knew it. The King looked at him briefly and then left. As if to verify it further, Young looked after the King for a few moments and then took out the knife he had purchased for Eun-soo, turning it over in his hands.

Later that night Young went to Eun-soo’s quarters to give her the smaller knife, but she had already gone to bed for the night. Asleep but in the midst of a nightmare, she was reliving the violence she’d seen since arriving in Goryeo. Almost like a slide show, one scene after another went through her dreams: Eum-ja killing the scholars, and Hwa Su-in telling her they’d kill the one dearest to her. Then she saw Young’s blood-streaked face after he had fought off Hwa Su-in’s men on Gangwa Island and herself holding the knife to her own throat to stop the duel between Young and Ki Chul. Lastly, she dreamt of thrusting the sword into Young’s abdomen and watching in horror as he pulled it further into his body. With that last memory she cried out, waking herself up. She sat up, panting and gasping. Young heard her cries and rushed toward her door, but Dr. Jang stopped him. In a quiet voice so as not to disturb her further, the doctor told him that she had nightmares every night. Alarmed, Young said, “So that’s a nightmare?!” The doctor replied that she had suffered horrendous things, one after another. She had told him that she had seen more violence in the past few months than people in heaven would see in a lifetime. Dr. Jang added that he thought she was trauma-bound, reliving that violence in her dreams over and over. He often passed by her quarters at night just to check on her. Young knew that even hardened soldiers could suffer similarly. A few of his comrades had been forced to leave the Red Crescent Moon army because of that. He was appalled to learn of her suffering, saying softly, “I didn’t know.” Dr. Jang commented that most people didn’t know about it because she could easily fool people with her smiling face. After Dr. Jang left, Young remained outside her quarters until he stopped hearing her move around and she had gone back to sleep.

In order to assure Prince Hyung’s safety, Hwa Su-in and Eum-ja had been assigned to watch over him. Eum-ja sat on a windowsill of the second story overlooking the street in front of the house where the Prince was staying, so he could see all who came and went. Hwa Su-in was inside, watching the Prince. Today the Prince was with two gisaengs, playing baduk with one of them. The other one fawned over him and fed him wine and sweetmeats, and he flattered them with their beauty and how well his baduk adversary was playing. Hwa Su-in curled her lip, finding the scene disgusting, not to mention boring. Finally she took a break and went upstairs to where Eum-ja was sitting. Just about then, Eum-ja saw Young stroll up and stop across the road in front of the house. He leaned his sword against a tree and picked up a few small stones. Smiling at them, he threw a stone toward them and then another. Eum-ja batted the stones away with his flute case. On the side of the house an unseen Dae-man crept toward Eum-ja. He threw a stone which hit Eum-ja on the hand, causing him to drop his flute. Dae-man grabbed it and ran away. Very annoyed, Eum-ja dropped down to the ground and pursued him. Young chuckled and stayed where he was, smiling up at Hwa Su-in. He motioned to her to come down, which she was happy to do. She thought perhaps he was finally interested in her, but even if that wasn’t the case, talking to Young promised to be more interesting than what Prince Hyung was doing. She went downstairs and told the Prince to continue playing, but she’d be leaving; a man was calling on her. As soon as Hwa Su-in left, though, the two gisaengs stood up and opened the entrance door. Standing there was the tall Suribang swordsman, who bowed respectfully before entering.

Hwa Su-in’s conversation with Young was short. She approached him with flirtatious eyes and asked what business he had with her. He told her he just wanted to greet her and give her a warning. He told her to never show herself to the High Doctor again, that the Doctor was frightened of her. When Hwa Su-in asked what he would do if she went to the Doctor anyway, he told her with a smile that she’d lose her right hand. She laughed, unwilling to show any unease. But then he looked over her shoulder and said, “I think that’s enough time. Let’s part now,” and he left. Hwa Su-in suddenly realized that she might have been tricked. Rushing back to the house where she had left the Prince, she found the house empty.

The Suribang warriors had blindfolded the Prince, brought him into a darkened room and sat him down. He wondered aloud if they were thieves and told them they had the wrong person if they wanted money. But his captors were already leaving. Another person came over to him, removed his blindfold and sat down across from him. The Prince was surprised to see that it was the Woodalchi General. Young confirmed it, “Yes, I’m Choi Young. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Angry now, the Prince cried, “And you dare to drag a royal like me here?! Was this the King’s order? Even the King should not break the law…” But Young interrupted him with a smile and told him that, on the contrary, he had just saved him. He had seen him being captured by thieves and intervened. The Prince huffed in scornful disbelief.

Young continued, “Since I’ve saved you, my Lord, may I make a request? You have High Doctor’s notebook, right?” The Prince expressed surprise that that was the reason for him being detained. He assured the General that he did not have the notebook with him; it was tightly locked up by Ki Chul. Young told him to find it somehow and give it to the High Doctor. “The Doctor believes that if it can be deciphered, it might show the path to heaven. You can decipher it with her.” Still suspicious, the Prince asked why. Young gave him a strong motivation, “If you unriddle that secret, Ki Chul won’t be able to treat you lightly. You must be well aware that he will get rid of you once he has no use for you. So you will have a strong card against Prince of the Court.”

The Prince asked, “And?”

“High Doctor finds the path to return to heaven.”

“And Woodalchi, you? What do you gain?”

Young paused for a moment then answered, a little sadly, “A relief of heart.” Then he stood up, adding, “These thieves could capture you at any given time again. And if they do, I won’t be able to save you a second time. So be careful of your words and actions.” He picked up his sword and began to leave the room but stopped and turned back to give the Prince a last warning. “High Doctor has a fiery temper and is good with knives. It would be wise not to commit any discourtesy.” He inclined his head to the Prince and left, leaving the other man with much to think about.

Returning to the palace, Young walked down a corridor with his second-in-command, Choon-sik. They were discussing the enmity between the palace soldiers and the Woodalchi. Choon-sik even described the two groups as like cats and dogs, natural enemies. Largely due to Choi Young, the Woodalchi were now paid more and were regarded as an elite troop with special privileges from the King. They looked down on the palace soldiers, and the other group was jealous of the Woodalchi’s improved standing. Young thought that getting the two groups to work more closely together would take some time. Then he stopped for a moment, hearing Eun-soo’s voice. Looking through a side opening, he saw her distributing soap that she’d made to some of the Woodalchi and warrior maidens. She was following her marketing plan of distributing the products free at first and then charging for them when people wanted more of the them. She still hoped to return to her world, but if that wasn’t possible, she was planning to make a home for herself here in Goryeo.

Young and Eun-soo continued to meet on days when he was available in order to share information and encourage each other. He also started giving her lessons in using a knife. He told her to pull out her dagger. Reaching down, she struggled with her long skirts and the heavy knife, finally standing up with it in her hand. He told her it took too long; would her opponent just wait idly while she got it out? She protested that when she had used a knife in the past, the other people were just laying there waiting for surgery; she wasn’t used to whipping a knife out. He gave her the smaller red knife that he had bought, asked her to strap that to her ankle and then try pulling it out. This time she was able to pull it out much more quickly. She tried a few swipes with it, but they were weak. He went over to her and stood behind her, putting his hand over hers to show her how to use the knife. He told her, “The advantage of a knife is that you can change its direction easily. But you must focus your strength on it.” He guided her arm with his own through a few stronger passes to demonstrate, then had her change hands and slash with the other hand as well. Then he asked her to attack him. As she did so, he twirled her around and held the knife to her throat to show her one type of defensive move she might encounter. Her body was up against his, and after a moment he let her go, clearing his throat. Her nearness aroused him, but he pushed those feelings away, always aware that she was going to leave his world.

But they managed to have a bit of fun, too. He told her to spread her feet so her stance was firm, to tense her belly muscles for strength, and then strike. When she tried it, he shook his head and said, “That’s all you can do?” He took the knife and demonstrated, moving so fast in striking that his hands were a blur. It was so far beyond her ability that she started laughing, then imitated him in a joking way. They both began laughing, relieving the tension of their serious work, then resumed working on her skill with a knife. After the knife lesson they walked over to the nearby zig-zag bridge together. She was still chuckling over the knife practice, enjoying herself. Looking out at the garden, she commented, “This world is nice, too. The air is good and it’s quiet.”

Wanting to know more about what she meant, he said, “But you still want to go back, right? You’re just enduring it.” She didn’t correct him, although she had begun to think that staying there might not be so bad. Young, though, took her silence as confirmation that she was focused only on leaving.

Later that day, some of the Woodalchi were practice fighting in the main barracks room, joking and laughing together. But suddenly a number of palace soldiers rushed in, their hands on their swords. The man who had delivered the box of weapons was with them. Ju-seok angrily cried, “This isn’t your territory. How dare you barge in!” One of the soldiers asked the delivery man, “Which bastard was it?” He pointed to both Dol-bae and Deok-man. The royal soldiers drew their swords and held the two at sword point, while others went upstairs to the General’s room. There they went through Young's personal things, taking out and throwing items to the floor, among them the remains of Mae Hee’s bandana and the aspirin bottle with the dried flower in it. Eventually they found the red lacquer box and the note within it. Then they left, taking the two Woodalchi and the box with them.

After meeting Young, Prince Hyung had approached Ki Chul with the idea that he should take the Doctor’s notebook to her and work out what was in it together. Frustrated by his unfruitful efforts so far with the Doctor, Ki Chul agreed and gave him the notebook, which the Prince took to Eun-soo’s quarters. She was skeptical when she opened her door and saw it was him, but he took out the notebook, telling her he had taken it. He couldn’t give it to her, but perhaps she’d like to copy the contents? When she still looked at him with deep suspicion, he lied to put her at ease, telling her that no one had sent him, he had come on his own. Therefore she shouldn’t be nervous. After briefly eyeing her up and down, he said his only condition was to stay by her while she worked. She allowed him to come in and they sat down at a table across from each other. She unwrapped and opened the diary. Looking through it, she realized that the book couldn’t possibly be a thousand years old. The paper wasn’t that old, and there were yellow highlighter marks in addition to the writing. She thought it could be at most a hundred years old. When he asked what was written in the book, she replied only, “Numbers and English letters.” Young, passing by, saw them seated at the table and felt satisfied that the Prince was doing what Young had “suggested.”

Entering the palace once again, the General was suddenly confronted by royal soldiers. Startled, he asked, “What’s this?” He was hustled to the throne room where the King was meeting with Teacher Ikjae, Lee Saek and a few other advisors, including Ki Chul. Dol-bae and Deok-man were seated to the side, as was the man who had delivered the arms. Noting Dol-bae and Deok-man’s presence, Young moved past his guards and walked to the table where the advisors sat. Looking at the King, he said, “Woodalchi Choi Young, came on your summons.” The King looked very unhappy, but asked Teacher Ikjae to continue. Teacher Ikjae indicated the red lacquer box that had been recovered from Young’s room and asked him if he recognized it. He replied, “I don’t.”

Lee Saek, the other scholar, opened the box, took out the note and held it up, saying, “A statement of payment for 500 nyang.”

A very exasperated King told Young, “These people, for their first task after being appointed, are telling me it’s your corruption charge.”

Lee Saek continued, “Woodalchi Choi Young, you received a bribe from a weapons blacksmith.” He indicated the one man as the deliverer, and the two Woodalchi as the receivers. “And this statement was found in your room. I will give you a chance to explain.”

Young was incredulous. “So you’re saying I received 500 nyang in a bribe? Not even 500,000 nyang, but 500?!” Five hundred nyang was a very small amount of money.

The scholar affirmed, “For now, that was the amount we uncovered.” Young laughed out loud, unable to believe anyone would take this seriously. But no one else was smiling. Teacher Ikjae referred to the special privileges that the King had given the Woodalchi and said that with great privilege came corruption. The King tried to intervene, but the Teacher continued, “When Your Majesty appointed me, the first words you said were not to be swayed by any authority. To be fair and just in all matters.” The King’s hands were tied for now unless he wanted to undermine the scholars he had just appointed.

While the scholar spoke, Young had gotten angrier and angrier. He was known for hating corruption and hadn’t even collected his salary for years. Yet greed for money was the very thing he was being accused of. He turned to Ki Chul, thinking it must be his doing. He leaned down and snarled, “If you planned to set a trap for me, why not just charge me with high treason? What’s 500 nyang?”

Ki Chul at first didn’t even look at him but said, “So you at best just wanted to earn 500 nyang.” Then he looked at Young and sneered, “And you had your precious subordinates use faulty weapons?”

Lee Saek asked him, “General Choi Young, did you say you never saw this statement before? Then your men received it without your knowledge?” Young realized that not only was he in trouble, but the two other Woodalchi could be charged as well. He was more worried about them than himself.


	27. Episode 14, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young is tried for bribery. The new court advisors quiz Eun-soo on her knowledge of the future. Young and Eun-soo make a plan to escape from the palace.

**Gye Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Choi Young had been brought before the King and his advisors to question him about taking a bribe. Young quickly decided that his first task was to protect his men. He grabbed the red lacquer box that had held the payment note for the bribe and held it up in front of the two Woodalchi, Dol-bae and Deok-man. He asked them, “This box. Did you guys receive it?” They both nodded. He added, “Did you open it?” They both said they had not. "You left it in my room without knowing what was inside?” They nodded that was so. Young turned back to the ministers and the King, telling them, “As you heard, these guys don’t know what this is. So they can go.” He told them, “Leave.” They looked at each other, not wanting to abandon their General while he was still in trouble. But he shouted at the top of his voice, “Get out!” and they left. 

Once they’d left, Young faced his accusers again and said with barely contained fury, “Continue.”

The King told him, “My advisors say they received a report.”

Teacher Ikjae addressed him, “If this is a false charge, we can give you a chance to clear yourself. Try and explain.”

Young looked at him with disgust. “So, you ask me to explain whether I received a bribe of… 500 nyang?” The minister asked if he needed time. But Young turned to the King and said, “I never accepted any money.”

The King saw how angry he was and sought to calm him, “General…”

But Young was furious. “I have nothing else to say! If you can’t believe me, put me in jail or dismiss me from office! I’ll be waiting for your order.” He bowed his head to the King, and to the consternation of the ministers, turned and stalked out of the room.

The King frowned at Ki Chul, asking, “Must you have gone this far?”

But Ki Chul denied being the instigator. “You are mistaken, Your Majesty. I did not engage in any 500 nyang report. But it was good that I came here to see that the man who couldn’t be broken by seven assassins still has a weakness. Now I know.” He sneered as he gave a short laugh.

Young collected his sword as he left the throne room and stalked down the corridor in a rage. Dol-bae and Deok-man had been waiting for him and called to him, but he growled, “Stay away from me!” There was a small pedestal in the hallway with a model building on top of it, and he took his anger out on that, smashing it with his scabbard, kicking it over, and then striding on. He returned to his room to find it a mess, his sparse possessions strewn about. The first thing he picked up was the remnant of Mae Hee’s cloth. He looked at it briefly and returned it to the small chest.

Just then Deok-man came to his room and told him that people from the court were there. Ju-seok led Il-shin into his quarters, accompanied by several soldiers. Il-shin announced in his stentorian voice, “I came to relate the inspector’s settlement to Choi Young. I, Central Administrator, Jo Il-shin, in relating this settlement…”

Impatient and still angry, Young interrupted him, saying, “Just get to the point.”

“Woodalchi Choi Young, in committing the crime of accepting bribery and malfeasance of power, until the details and complete story are exposed, shall be disbarred as General of Woodalchi. Il-shin couldn’t help but smile slightly as he made this announcement. The other Woodalchi were shocked, but Young wasn’t; he’d just figured something out. Il-shin continued, “Until further notice, you will serve as an ordinary warrior of Woodalchi. Unless commanded, you cannot leave the palace.” Il-shin seemed almost gleeful and his eyes sparkled.

Ju-seok protested that the Woodalchi had a special privilege granted by the King, but Il-shin told him that the King had just revoked that privilege. Young walked up to Il-shin, who took a fearful step or two back from him, and said, “So... it was Your Excellency.”

“What?”

“The 500 nyang... you set me up.”

Il-shin drew himself up and returned Young's glare. “Whatever it is that I do, it is solely for Goryeo and His Majesty, the King.”

“Me getting a bribe, what does that have to do with Goryeo or His Majesty?”

Il-shin just curled his lip in hatred for the man who had replaced him as the King’s closest advisor, snarling, “Woodalchi.”

Young took another step toward him and Il-shin’s look turned to fear. But Young only said through gritted teeth, “You haven't answered my question. Please do tell me.” But Il-shin only turned and left. 

Meanwhile, Ki Chul had left the throne room and just Teacher Ikjae and a few other new scholars remained with the King. The King reminded them that the only reason they were still alive was due to the General risking his life to protect them. Teacher Ikjae nodded and replied in a quiet voice, “We are aware of it.”

“And you do this to him? A 500 nyang bribe?” The King became angrier as he went on, “You don’t see the mountain-high corruption of Ki Chul, who tried to kill you all. But you see so clearly the 500 nyang of Choi Young, who had to shed blood for you?!”

The elder scholar continued in his quiet voice, “Our biggest task as your new servants is strengthening your royal authority. We need to quiet the rumors.”

“Rumors?”

“That His Majesty is too young, and Choi Young is manipulating you. That you are almost his puppet.”

Scholar Lee Saek added, “In addition, it is widely known that Choi Young is a warrior who has taken many lives. Someone so blood-stained being by Your Majesty’s side…it is not good for the Crown.”

Again the elder spoke, “We must gather more talented people. People do not flock under the fiend.”

Unimpressed with their argument, the King replied, “You are now telling me it was for my sake that you slandered my Woodalchi General? And in such a humiliating way, at that?” But the younger scholar told him that they only investigated what had been reported to them. And, because they knew he was a close aide, they were carrying it out as quickly as possible. The elder scholar asked if the King intended to use his authority to halt the investigation. If so, they would have to obey him. That put the King in a bind, since he had assembled the scholars to establish a rule of law rather than rule by royal whim.

While the King debated with his scholars, Eun-soo was copying what was in the notebook onto sheets of paper. The papers were a bit hard to separate, so she licked her fingers in order to thumb through them. She was writing down a formula she had remembered from college when the Prince came into the room and asked if she had learned something. She quickly gathered the papers and didn’t reply, prompting him to comment, “You did.” She replied that she couldn’t be certain and rambled on a bit about formulas and how more research was needed. He picked up the notebook and closed it, saying that he knew enough about western writing to know they were numbers. Caught in dissembling, she apologized, saying she didn’t know whether or not to trust him. She asked if she could look at the book again for just a moment. He gave it to her, and she opened it to the last page. Her name hadn't been an illusion; it was still there, written in her own handwriting. She briefly traced over it with her finger, which moved exactly over the writing from long practice in signing her name. Reluctantly she returned it to the the Prince.

The spy in the palace sent a message to Ki Chul, giving it to a soldier who in turn gave it to someone else, and so on, but this time the messengers were followed. The end of the trail was Ki Chul, who opened it and read, “Used as an old shoe and thrown out.” It meant that the new scholars were about to get rid of Choi Young. He turned from the message to the Prince, who was in the same room, looking over the Doctor’s notebook. He asked the Prince if the Doctor had grasped the content of the notebook yet. The Prince wasn’t sure. Then Ki Chul asked when he’d have the Doctor’s heart. The Prince recalled seeing Eun-soo tug on the General’s sleeve in such a familiar way, thinking that someone already had the Doctor’s heart. But an idea occurred to him, perhaps there was a way…

Ki Chul was asking him what he needed to bring the High Doctor to him. He could have anything he needed or wanted to do that. The Prince asked, “What about making her the Queen?” When Ki Chul looked puzzled, he added, “I might convince her if I can make her my queen. I don’t know how things are in heaven but becoming a queen could be quite tempting.” Ki Chul smiled and reminded him that first he’d have to become the King. But the Prince said he knew he’d have to become King or die. Considering that, Ki Chul wondered aloud how he could most easily dethrone the current King.

The time had come to remove the spies. Woodalchi soldiers apprehended the soldier that had transferred the spy’s message, and the warrior maidens took their spy into custody. She tried to take a poison pill, but Lady Choi whacked her in the back of the neck to make her spit it out. After interrogating the spy, Lady Choi reported to the King that it seemed they were intending to steal the royal seal given to the King by the emperor of Yuan. That would give Yuan doubts about the King’s competency, and the emperor would likely dethrone him. Choon-sik opined that, if the royal seal was their goal, they would keep trying to steal it. He added that he’d tell the General, but Lady Choi reminded him that Young was no longer the General. He was just a common warrior. In response the King asked Choon-sik what the General was doing, deliberately using his title.

What Young was doing was dozing on the zig-zag bridge, not having his normal duties to attend to. He no longer spent every spare moment sleeping to avoid painful memories, but he hadn’t stopped being able to sleep anytime and anywhere. It was a useful ability for a warrior who might be called to duty at any hour and for any length of time. Eun-soo arrived and sat down next to him. She said to hm, “Ah, I looked all over for you.”

Without moving or opening his eyes, he asked, “Why?”

“To remove your stitches. Loosen your wrist ties for me.” He was slow to sit up and she told him again, “Your wrist!” She could tell he was downhearted, so she tried to lighten his mood by teasing him. “I’m a considerate visiting doctor, although I wonder when you’re going to pay me.” His expression didn’t change, but he did show her his wrist. Looking at the wound, she commented that it had healed well and began removing the stitches, commenting brightly on how good she was as a doctor. Young continued to look depressed and unengaged. But when she mentioned that Prince Hyung had visited her with her notebook, he looked over at her with interest. She told him that she thought she knew what those numbers in the book represented.

“You know?”

“Those are dates. What year, what month, what day. In the way dates are recorded in my world. Even down to the hour and minutes were recorded. I’m wondering if that’s the time when the heaven gate will open.”

He sat up straighter and asked, “When is it? The time when the heaven door opens?”

“I have to change those years into years you use here in Goryeo. That’s not going to be easy at all, so I’m thinking it over.” She’d finished removing the stitches, telling him she was done, and that his recovery was really impressive. As she talked he gazed at her but turned his head quickly away when she looked up from his arm, so she wouldn’t see him staring at her.

He told her, “Once you can calculate the time, let me know. We will need time to get ready.”

“But I might be wrong. It’s a list of dates from the year 1100 A.D. But I don’t know what they mean.” Then she changed the subject, telling him she had gone to his room first, thinking he would be there. He corrected her, saying it was no longer his room. Ignoring that, she continued, “But I discovered this there!” With a wicked grin she held up the aspirin bottle containing the dried flower. He glanced at it in surprise and, very embarrassed, grabbed it out of her hands. She continued to tease him, “But I wonder if it’s okay to put the flower and the pills in the same bottle?” He only pressed his lips together stubbornly and wouldn’t look at her. She smiled knowingly and went to sit across from him on the bridge. Still wanting to cheer him up, she asked, “There’s a song about you in my world: ‘See the gold like stones as willed by his father. He offered his whole life to our nation and he is the teacher to our people, General Choi Young.’”

Surprised that she knew what his father had told him, he asked, “Where did you hear that? About gold and stones?”

She said, “I told you. In the heaven world, you are very famous. We made a song with your father’s last words and sing about it. Because you were an honest and just man.” He was stunned. She added, “They said you took a bribe? Everyone in heaven is laughing… Why do you look so surprised? Like you didn’t know I’m from heaven? You were the one who brought me here.” Then she told him she was leaving. He looked after her, momentarily heartened, then returned to thinking about his current problem. Being famous in heaven wasn’t much help now.

As if to confirm the seriousness of the situation, Choon-sik came to Young shortly after Eun-soo left, telling him about a court session that had just ended.The King had made a decision about a quarrel over land between two advisors. The losing advisor actually questioned the King's decision, asking him if he had learned about the problem from "the swordsman" and had that man told him what to do. Choon-sik was about to tell him of another instance, but Young held his hand up to stop him. He already knew of the rumors about him, that he was manipulating the young, inexperienced King behind the scene. He put his hand to his forehead, feeling both pained and discouraged as he thought about what to do at his trial.

A few days later, Ki Chul went to the palace and found Teacher Ikjae with a few other scholars. Approaching them, he said he had heard that the elder scholar had been very close to Prince Hyung’s father, King Chung Seon. The scholar confirmed it, and then Ki Chul asked what he thought of his son, Prince Hyung. Instead of answering, the scholar asked him what he wished to know. Ki Chul came right up to him and lowered his voice to nearly a whisper, telling him that he could choose which King he wanted; he didn’t necessarily have to choose the current King. Having planted that seed, Ki Chul left, telling himself again that, if needed, he would switch the King, the nation, and even heaven as well.

Elsewhere in the palace, Eun-soo was at the Herbal House, having spread out a book of Chinese characters used in Goryeo and her paper notes from the diary. She was trying to figure out corresponding dates between her time and Goryeo time but was very frustrated. She paced back and forth, saying, “It would be so simple if it’s written in Dangi years [years from the founding of Korea in 2333 B.C.]. She finally shouted, “Agh! I should’ve learned Chinese characters!” Her outburst made the others working in the area jump. She called to Dr. Jang to ask his opinion on some Chinese modifiers, but she heard him greet someone coming into the office. It was Il-shin and the scholars, Teacher Ikjae and Lee Saek. They wanted to see the High Doctor. Il-shin was explaining to the scholars that he had seen her coming through heaven's door with his own eyes.

They all sat down, Eun-soo across from the scholars with Dr. Jang by her side. Teacher Ikjae told her they had heard that she could see the future. Before she could answer, Il-shin jumped in, affirming it was so and that she also had impressive medical skills. But they wanted to know what the future held. Reluctant to tell them anything that might change history, Eun-soo looked pleadingly at Dr. Jang. He said, “The King has given the mission to safeguard High Doctor to me. So I will ask you, why does High Doctor have to answer these questions?”

Teacher Ikjae answered that it was for the sake of the nation. “If the rumors about High Doctor are true, that knowledge and power must be used for this nation, of course. And if they are not, we can no longer just sit and watch His Majesty fall into her bewitching.” At that last she huffed derisively and looked away. Il-shin tried to calm her, saying not to be upset because he knew she spoke the truth.

Lee Saek then spoke directly to her, asking about her statement that Yuan would soon fall, and a new dynasty would replace it. Did she say that? She replied that she hadn’t realized she’d be there for so long, and she hadn’t intended to share that information; she was angry at the time and the words had just came out. But he pressed her again to tell them if that’s what she had said, and she admitted that was so. Then he asked in what year that would happen. She explained that she didn’t know the exact year and anyway, the years she knew and the years here were different. She was studying that exact topic. Next, Teacher Ikjae surprised her by asking which King would best benefit the country. He pressed on, “Though you may not know the year, you must know about the kings’ legacies. Is the current King a benefit to this nation? What end awaits him?”

She huffed again, out of patience. She told him firmly, “I can’t divulge the profound secrets.”

Teacher Ikjae interrupted her, “Must not, or you don’t know?”

She insisted, “If you wish to find out something from me, go and tell the King to come ask himself. Then I can divulge some of those secrets. Do you understand?” Il-shin nodded, but the other two scholars were unhappy with her answer.

She left the meeting, muttering to herself that they should pay her a fortune-teller’s fee, and that she wasn’t some free search engine. But then she heard someone behind her and turned to see Young. He had overheard the last part of her statement to the scholars, that only if His Majesty were to ask could she divulge some of the profound secrets. She smiled at him, pleased that he had come looking for her on his own. She invited him in for some tea.

But he turned very serious, telling her, “Tomorrow at dawn, prepare to leave and meet me where we usually meet. Don’t pack too much, just lightly.”

Taken totally by surprise at his sudden urgency, she asked, “You’re saying for me to leave?”

“Those stuffed-up teachers. If they think your information is necessary, they will lock you up and even torture you.”

She laughed, thinking it a joke, and said, “You’re lying.” But his face didn’t change at all; he looked deadly serious. Seeing that, her smile faded. “Really?”

He simply said, “If we sleep out in the open, it will be cold, so bring sturdy clothing.”

“Will you come with me?” He hesitated, and she added, “Can you? You’re not supposed to leave the palace.”

He came to a decision and his face lit up. He smiled and told her, “I will go with you.” Then he left.

Eun-soo began collecting her things as well as some bandages and medications in case she needed them along the way. She wrapped everything she was taking in a pink cloth that was tied in a sling so she could carry it over her shoulder. Then she visited the Queen. The Queen noticed her staring at her and asked why she was doing that. Eun-soo told her it was because she was pretty. Then she told her that she had talked with Dr. Jang about making medicines that were good for her uterus. The Queen asked if something was wrong with her and Eun-soo replied that she was going to give her some information from heaven. “In this land, there were great numbers of kings and queens, both before and after you. But none of them yearned after each other as you two did.”

Surprised, the Queen asked, “His Majesty and I?”

“Yes, you two. His Majesty loves you so much that, by chance, if Your Highness were to be ill or were to go somewhere first, he’d become sour and do away with state affairs too. He’ll only think about you. That’s how much he yearns after you.” While Eun-soo talked, the Queen smiled shyly to hear of his love, and hastened to assure the High Doctor that she wasn’t going anywhere and would not leave the King’s side. Eun-soo said that’s why he loved her so much. Then she asked the Queen if she could hug her, saying she knew it was impertinent, but since she was from heaven, she hoped the Queen would allow it. She reached over and hugged the Queen. Eun-soo felt sad, knowing this was a goodbye. Before she left the Queen, Lady Choi came into the room to tell them that Young’s interrogation had started.

Young walked to the throne room followed by as many of the Woodalchi as could get away from guard duty. They wanted to show support for their stern but but beloved General. Even facing his trial, he paused at the entrance to tell Dol-bae that group 2 of the Woodalchi had left their posts, and Dol-bae assured him he would rectify it. Then he walked in to face the advisors and the King. The King’s uncle, Prince Hyung, sat to the side of the throne. The King was still in an adjoining room being harangued by Il-shin. He told the King that the whole nation was watching him and the interrogation to see if His Majesty could be decisive in the corruption of a close aide. Or would he cling to Choi Young’s sleeve? He hastened to add that those weren’t his words, but words from the market. Could His Majesty stand alone with wisdom and determination?

Finally the King turned and addressed him. “Central Administrator. The subject of today’s royal questioning is simple. Did Choi Young take a bribe or did he not? I am only going to seek the correct answer. If he didn’t commit that deed, then it’s the end.”

“Your Majesty insists to take on that fiend?”

Enraged, the King took two steps to Il-shin and grabbed him by the front of his collar. “Don’t you ever call Choi Young that again! The blood that man had to shed because of knowing me, the lives he had to take, each and every one of them was on my account. Do you understand?!”

But Il-shin’s animosity toward Young wouldn’t be stopped. The General had crossed or ignored him too many times and, most unforgivably, had replaced Il-shin as the King’s most trusted advisor. He replied, “That man is an obstacle to you and to Goryeo. Why do you deny it?” Disgusted, the King let go of his collar and told him his preparations were done. They should go.

Young was standing in the center of the court with advisors sitting in a row on either side of him as the King entered. Everyone bowed to the King as he sat and said, “Begin.” As a person accused of a crime, Young knelt before the King. Lee Saek read the accusation, “The crime of bribery by the former Woodalchi General Choi Young.” He announced that the council had given him seven days to reveal his innocence. He asked Young if he had prepared proof or a witness. The King spoke up, volunteering to be a character witness for him, but the Prince told him he was the judge in the case, and that he couldn’t let his personal feelings interfere.

Then Young asked to be heard. He spoke to the King, saying, “Your subject, for the past seven years, has taken on the position of Woodalchi General. And I have been blessed to meet a king who trusts me. Such blessing has made me arrogant. Thus I have been tempted by gold and I received a bribe from weapon blacksmiths. I admit my guilt.”

The King, stunned by what he knew was a false confession, said, “Look here, Choi Young.”

But Young continued, “To have become trouble to Your Majesty, it pains me in the heart.” That was the real confession, that he knew he was causing difficulties for the King. But the King was shocked and angry. He stood and pounded on the arm of the throne.

Il-shin hurried to say, “The offender has confessed. He must be sentenced to appropriate punishment.” Lee Saek said that the sentence should be being chained and doing heavy labor as a slave for one to three years in the iron workhouse. The King was beside himself with anger and grief, tempted mightily to usurp the authority of his advisors. He sat back down on the throne, and both the defendant and the King looked at each other. Young gave him a small smile and shook his head ever so slightly.


	28. Episode 14, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young and Eun-soo hide out at the Suribang's house. Young finds Eun-soo unconscious. The King's uncle gives Lady Choi important information about how to save Eun-soo.

**Gye Kyeong, Capital City of Goryeo**

Dr. Jang relayed the outcome of the trial to Eun-soo, telling her that Choi Young was tied up and taken to a temporary holding cell. He’d be dragged to the iron plant at daybreak. She didn’t believe for a moment that he was guilty. She told Dr. Jang of their plans to leave, and he tried not to let her get her hopes up. But she was determined to go wait for him. He had told her he would come, and he always kept his word. Dr. Jang went to get her surgery tools and said to come back if Choi Young didn’t appear. Again she insisted, “He’s going to come.”

Meanwhile, Ki Chul was trying to make sense of the trial and its outcome. He quizzed the Prince, “He confessed to the crime?”

“Yes, very frankly.”

“But that’s impossible. He’d rather die as a traitor than admit to bribery. What was the sentence?” The Prince said it was one year of hard labor. “Did the King sentence him?” The Prince nodded. “Himself? So easily? Without hesitation?”

“Now that I think about it…between the two of them their gaze was a bit strange as the one was receiving the sentence. There was no anger or disappointment. I didn’t see anything like that."

Ki Chul curled his lip in anger, “Damn it! That bastard is at his scheme again.” He thought it had to involve the High Doctor, and he shouted for Eum-ja and Hwa Su-in.

At about the same time, the King was giving the Queen an account of the trial as he also grappled with the outcome. Describing Young’s admission, he said, “I clearly heard them, the words he spoke with his eyes. That he’s fine. Not to worry.” The Queen emerged from her bedchamber dressed in a beautifully embroidered night robe and sat down across from the King. He continued, “When the General was locked up in the dungeon, I made a resolution that I would never let him be chained again. That he must never again be imprisoned.”

The Queen picked up a cup of tea and told him, “Earlier in the day, High Doctor came by. I didn’t realize this when she was with me, but after she left it seemed to me as though she came to bid farewell.” The King realized that, as he’d demonstrated before, Young had a plan in mind and would handle himself very well. But the King would still miss his friendship and counsel.

Several sets of people were out and about late into the night. Young sat in a barred holding cell, waiting. Outside the cells, two royal guards played a gambling game on the ground with a burning brazier nearby for light. Engrossed in their game, they didn’t see Dae-man climbing onto the roof behind them. From there, he dropped onto the surprised guards, knocking them down and then grabbing their keys. He unlocked Young’s cell and they both left. As they left the prison, one of the guards had recovered enough to try to stop them, but Young kicked the brazier over toward him, and swung a burning piece of wood toward the guard’s chest, making him throw himself backward to avoid being burned. Neither guard immediately followed them.

Soon afterward, Choon-sik and Lady Choi went to the King and Queen to report that Choi Young had escaped. Lady Choi told them there had been a number of offenders gathered in cells and ready to be transported out, but Young had knocked down the guards and left. Choon-sik added that the palace guards were combing the grounds. He began to smile as he said, “But even if they did that, they won’t find…” then remembering where he was, he stopped himself and replaced his smile with a more neutral expression.

The King only said, “I understand.” Lady Choi asked if he had any orders for them, but he told her no, he didn’t, that he was tired and needed to rest. Only after they left did the King smile, telling the Queen that the General was not a person who could be chained unless he chose to bind himself. The Queen asked if his escape meant that he wouldn’t be returning. The King thought that might be so. “It seems he left so he won’t be an obstacle to me. I don’t know what he has in mind.”

Acting on Ki Chul’s suspicions, Eum-ja and Hwa Su-in came to check whether the High Doctor was still at her quarters. Her rooms were dark, and they kicked the door open. She was not there. After a brief search they rushed out to look nearby, hoping to catch her. Eum-ja picked up the sound of a man and woman walking together, and they hurried toward it, thinking they had them. The people they found, however, were Dr. Jang and Deo-ki. Frustrated and angry, Eum-ja attacked the Doctor, who defended himself with his fan. Eum-ja stopped after a moment, gaining control of himself. They asked Dr. Jang where the High Doctor was, and he told them she was at the herbal house. They’d already checked there so they knew he was lying. Hwa Su-in wanted to kill him, but Eum-ja stopped her, saying, “He’s a royal doctor. It’ll get messy.” They kept searching.

When Eun-soo arrived at the zig-zag bridge and the nearby pavilion, she didn’t see Young, but she did see royal guards hurrying about with torches. She crouched down, hiding behind a pillar. She began to take her knife out of its ankle sheathe, just in case she needed it, when she heard Young say, “Too slow. You’re still taking too long.” She whipped her head around and stood up, immensely relieved to see him. He asked if she had been waiting long, and told her that, because it wasn’t dawn yet, he had thought about coming to the royal medical office to escort her. Seeing him, she nearly started to cry with relief and ran across the bridge, throwing her arms around him, holding him tight. Taken wholly by surprise by such a display of affection, he paused and then put his arms around her as well. He slowly patted her on the back while she clung to him, ostensibly to comfort her, but he realized he could no longer deny to himself what he felt for her. They held each other for several moments before releasing each other.

Meanwhile, Ki Chul was beside himself with fury and frustration, thinking that the High Doctor had figured out when the portal to heaven would open and might be heading there with Choi Young. He called out his soldiers and commissioned posters with their faces to be placed on every gate. He even thought the King and Choi Young had plotted together. While Ki Chul paced in frustration, the Prince sat in the same room reading a book and ignoring the commotion. As the other man continued to rant, however, the Prince spoke up, telling him he was rushing to conclusions. Did he think the King would falsely accuse his most loyal servant for that? Ki Chul turned on him, telling him he gave him the notebook so he could learn when the portal would open, and what did he do? Did he just go there to look at her face? He yelled at him that any number of things could be accomplished if they knew how to come and go to heaven. Did no one understand that except him?!

The couple in question were trying to make their way out of the capital city, but the intense search for them was making that difficult. For what seemed like the hundredth time, Young spotted guards and quickly pushed Eun-soo into a shadowed doorway and turned his back to the street. After the guards had passed, she asked him if the guards were looking for him or for her. First, he led Eun-soo into a small alleyway, then told her that, since it was primarily the private soldiers of Ki Chul who were searching, they were looking for her. She suggested that, “If things become too dire, I will turn myself in and you can run away. Actually, now that I think about it, since being dropped in this Goryeo land, that Prince of the Court, he had the best bed and he had the most food with the most side-dishes. And he gave me new clothes…” She saw that he was looking her with a completely serious expression. She smiled at him and said, “This is where you’re supposed to laugh. Since I’m making a joke.”

Not changing his expression, he commented, “What kind of a joke is not funny?” Then he abruptly pushed her away from him, saying, “Go with them and wait while I check out the situation.” She found herself facing the three Suribang warriors, who promptly placed themselves around her, preventing her from following the General. Then they led her away, taking back alleys and narrow passages where soldiers were unlikely to go. They arrived at the Suribang headquarters, and the Manbo sister and brother greeted her and placed a big bowl of rice soup in front of her, telling her it was the best in town. The sister produced a wooden soup spoon from her waistband and gave it to her. Eun-soo was happy to dig in.

Not long after, Young came there too and seated himself next to Eun-soo. Sighing with fatigue, he told them there was no hole to get out of the city. That was the Suribang’s assessment as well. If it had been only the General, he could get out, but not with Eun-soo; they were too easy to spot as a couple. While they talked, the sister produced another spoon from somewhere in her clothes and asked him if wanted some rice soup. Young was very hungry, not having eaten since early that day. He reached over for the bowl in front of Eun-soo, moved it in front of him and started eating. Eun-soo looked over in consternation. While he ate, he asked the siblings whether they could take a boat, but they told him the harbors were being guarded even closer than the streets. They suggested that the two of them hide there for a few days. Perhaps the search would quiet down by then. They could have a quiet room out of sight. Eun-soo was not paying much attention to the conversation; she was still looking longingly at the soup bowl in front of Young, with her lips on the edge of her spoon. The brother told them they’d have to share one room. Young asked Eun-soo if that was alright. But she only looked askance at the soup bowl and then at him, sternly asking, “You ate it all?!” He looked down at the empty bowl and at least had the grace to look guilty.

Young had something else to ask. He’d been wondering if it was only personal animosity that motivated Il-shin to set him up, or if there was another reason Il-shin wanted him out of the way. He looked over at the two young warriors in the room and asked them if they knew Il-shin. They nodded, and he asked them to follow him, reporting back on who he was meeting and what they were saying. They replied that they couldn’t do that inside the palace, but if Il-shin was seeing someone outside of the palace, they could track his movements. He said that was fine. Surprised, his pledged uncle scornfully asked if he was still working for that King, the one who had sentenced him on a false charge to a year of hard labor. “Yup,” he told them. They were flummoxed by that, but he didn’t say anything further and turned to Eun-soo. Both of them mirrored each other’s pose, leaning their head on one hand with their elbow on the table, looking at the other one.

He asked her, could she stay there for a few days, hiding carefully and quietly? Not to come out or expose herself in any way, no matter what? She thought for a few moments and then said, “And food?” He laughed and told her they’d give it to her, lots of it. With that she was happy and gave him a satisfied smile.

Sometime later in the palace, Il-shin encountered the King’s uncle and bowed to him. The Prince asked him if he liked the game, baduk. Il-shin didn’t know how to play it, but the Prince offered to teach him. They sat themselves down at a game board, and the Prince told him to pick up a pebble, either black or white, and put it on the board. Il-shin did that, and the Prince said, yes, that’s how you start. Il-shin knew they weren’t there to play baduk, and he asked the Prince what he had on his mind. He was nervous about even being seen with the Prince, given that he was a known enemy of the King. But the Prince knew of Il-shin’s intense dislike of Ki Chul. He told him that Ki Chul wasn’t in his right mind. He had his armies spread out all over Goryeo just to catch the High Doctor.

Then the Prince began to drive a wedge between him and the King. He commented that, since Il-shin had served the King faithfully for the past 10 years, it was strange that he had been appointed Chief Councilor. The Prince proposed, “Be my person.” Il-shin didn’t believe his ears for a moment. The Prince went on, “Then I shall give you the current Prince of the Court’s position.” At Il-shin’s stunned look, the Prince continued, “You’ll be as rich and powerful as him.”

“And what will you become?” Il-shin responded.

“Well, I will have to be King, of course. So that I can give you the position.”

“What you’re saying right now is trea…treason.” But the Prince told him that Ki Chul was already planning to make him the King. Il-shin commented, “You are planning to raise a revolt against the King? If I were to expose you and tell everyone what I heard…”

“Expose me? That I want to become King…Is there anyone who doesn’t know that?” The Prince sighed, stood up and said, “I will have to find someone else.” He began to leave the room.

But Il-shin stopped him, crying out, “Your Highness… Did you say Ki Chul’s position?” The Prince reaffirmed it. “Then, I would become Prince of the Court?” The Prince assured him he could be whatever pleased him. Il-shin began to ask, “Then what do I need to do…”

The Prince interrupted with information he needed right away. “That Woodalchi General…what was his name?” Il-shin told him. “I think someone inside the palace might be in communication with him. Who would that be?”

In the Suribang headquarters, Young looked out through a wooden window screen, checking for activity outside, while Eun-soo sat at a table and continued working with her papers, licking a finger or two to help her page through and organize them. After assuring himself that there were no soldiers about, he came over and sat down across from her. After a few minutes she couldn’t remember a formula and was very frustrated. She put her hands on either side of her head, mussing her hair. Then she put her head down on the table with her hands over her head in frustration, talking to herself. “I’ve seen this formula, but what was it? I should know it!” And she mussed her hair further, a habit when she was frustrated or anxious. Young tried to talk with her, telling her it was getting dark outside, and that they might be moving that night… But she suddenly interrupted him, “I got it! I got it! R is constant K multiply by 10g + F. The Wolf number! It calculates sunspot activity! I’m going crazy! Ooooh! On the college entrance exam, I got an ‘A’ in Earth Science, you see!” He had no idea what she was talking about, so he just watched her wriggle with excitement. Then she thought of another problem and her triumphant moment devolved into frustration. She put her head back down on the table again, further mussing her hair and stomping her feet on the floor.

He tentatively reached out to smooth her hair but stopped himself after a moment and drew back, keeping his emotions in check. Instead, he asked, “Is something getting unriddled?” She told him that it was hard to reconcile the two times, and everything was in Chinese characters. It was very frustrating. She saw him looking at her a little sideways, and she asked him what he was thinking. He wondered, “Are all heaven people like that? Or is it just you?”

“What is that?”

“Things you do. Everything.”

“What about it?” She wasn’t sure if she was being insulted.

He sighed, letting it go, instead saying, “Work hard on it. So you can find a way to return.” He gave a half-smile and got up to look out the window again.

Eun-soo wasn’t the only person who was frustrated. Ki Chul was unhappy that they had the entire city sewn up like a drum, but they still hadn’t found the escaped criminal and the High Doctor. Hwa Su-in thought they were still hiding somewhere in the city and asked if she should find the medicine-peddling kids and torture them for information. Ki Chul gave her the go-ahead and then asked where Prince Hyung was. He hadn’t seen him all day. His brother said he’d gone to the palace. Unfortunately, they no longer had many spies there, so they didn’t know what he’d been doing at the palace. Ki Chul told Eum-ja to stick to the Prince from then on. Worried, the Prince of the Court wondered aloud, “Have I called the tiger to catch the fox?”

The Suribang scouts had returned to tell Young and Eun-soo that they couldn’t leave yet; there were still too many soldiers looking for them. They would need to stay the night. Later, Eun-soo bathed and washed her hair while Young waited for her outside the door to their room. She’d taken awhile, and he impatiently called to her, “Are you done yet?”

She replied that she was almost done, then finally came out, still drying her hair with a towel, She groused at him, “If this is so bothersome, then go somewhere. Why do you nag like that?” But he wasn’t going anywhere; he was too worried about her safety. He opened the sliding screens and entered the room, telling her that it wasn’t much, but it was better than sleeping outside and getting wet from the dew. As he turned to leave her there, they both suddenly found themselves face-to-face, just inches away. His heart stopped; he found himself gazing at her, his eyes momentarily unguarded and filled with desire. She looked up at that intense gaze, locking eyes with him for a moment. Then she looked away, nervous and unsure what to do. He started as he came back to himself, indicated the bed, and told her, “Good night.” He inclined his head to her and left the room, stationing himself just outside the door, where he sat down with a sigh and leaned against the wall that stood between them. He was very tired but too stirred up to sleep.

Once he’d left the room, she remembered his intense gaze, feeling something similar stir inside her. She went to lie down but didn’t feel like sleeping. Instead she sat on the bed and spoke through the screen to him, “Are you there?”

His quiet voice assured her, “I am here. Are you not going to sleep?”

“I can’t fall asleep. How do I say? It’s feels like we came to an MT. It means Membership Training.” She was still turning the pages of her papers while she spoke. “So people on the same side go on a trip, and they spend the night together to become closer.” She smiled, saying, “It’s really hard to explain heaven words. So anyway, this is what you do when you go to MT.” She thought of a common MT activity in her world, telling him, “Oh, we can do that. Truth or Dare game. If you’re asked a question, you have to answer with the truth only. Are you there?”

His voice answered softly, “I’m listening.”

“Then, I’ll ask first. You are to say the truth only. You can’t hide or lie.”

Smiling wryly, he told her, “I’m not good at lying. It’s bothersome.”

“Then…here goes. If by chance, I unriddle the dates in this notebook, and that day we go to the heaven gate, and when we get there, the door is open, so I end up leaving. Then…will you be all right? You’d have lost a great doctor. No one will treat your wounds after a fight then. Are you going to be fine?”

Quietly he admitted, “No…I will not.”

“I knew you’d say that.” Not having to talk to him face-to-face made her a little braver. “I don’t think I’d be fine either. Once I return to my world, I’ll miss everyone here a lot, the King, the Queen, our Doctor Jang and the Woodalchi’s.” Her voice was very low as she added, “and…you.” While she was talking, he had turned toward the door and noticed he could see the silhouette of her face on the door screen. She continued, “I’ll miss you very much. It might feel like a long dream.” He touched the screen and began to run his finger gently along the outline of her face. She went on, “But one is supposed to wake up from dreams.” She sighed, then said, “Okay, now it’s your turn. Is there anything more you’d like to know about me?”

He stopped moving his hand and simply gazed at her silhouette. He said, “No.” Then he turned back to lean against the wall again, saying in almost a whisper, “Even now…I already know too much.” He leaned his head back, feeling resigned, and tried to go to sleep. But she had heard him and felt touched by the soft yearning in his voice.

Lady Choi had been summoned to the Prince’s quarters near the palace. The King had provided housing for the Prince, since he was an officer of the court. Now he sat at a small table with a few papers in front of him while Lady Choi stood. He asked, “So you are Choi Young’s aunt?” She nodded that it was so. He continued, “I was told you know everything that happens in and out of the court.”

She answered, “Those living in the court have a very simple and boring life, so they are prone to exaggerate.”

“Do you see this paper?” He indicated the papers on the desk. She nodded again. He asked her to try to separate them. She put her fingers on the top sheet and tried to separate it from the others, but it stuck to the sheet below it. He commented, “They are hard to separate, so one must wet the finger to separate them, like this.” He demonstrated by licking his finger and then using it to separate the top sheet from those below. “So if there was poison coated on the corner, the ones who use this paper will be poisoned unknowingly.”

Her heart skipped a beat, although she maintained her calm outward demeanor. “May I ask who has used this paper?”

He replied, “Not long ago, I gave this paper to the High Doctor.” She looked at him with alarm. He went on, “She wanted to copy something down and I happened to have this paper. So I gave her a few sheets of it.”

To verify, she asked him, “Then, by chance, was there poison coated on the paper that was given to High Doctor as well?”

With a smug smile he replied, “Certainly. I brought that poison from Cheonchook nation [India] during my trip. It is colorless and odorless and quite a wonder. And the symptoms don’t show up quickly either. Over a few days, it builds up in the body, then suddenly takes effect.”

“And the antidote?”

“I have it, of course.”

Getting right to the core of the matter, she asked, “What do you want?”

“Where is High Doctor? Won’t I need to know where she is in order to give her the antidote? Before it is too late. She seems to be important to many people, though. Am I wrong?”

She calmly told him that she would see what she could do and left, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

At the house of the Suribang, both Eun-soo and Young had gone to sleep, she in their room and he on the floor outside of the room, leaning against the wall. Even while sleeping, Young had trained himself to come alert to noises or disturbances at a moment’s notice. So he became aware of soft moans coming from the other room. He thought she might be having a bad dream, but it continued. He called, “High Doctor.” Maybe he could wake her up and then she could go back to sleep more peacefully. He called again, “High Doctor,” a bit louder this time. But there was no reaction. The moans continued. Alarmed, he stood up, opened the screens and went to her bedside. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook it lightly, trying to wake her up. But she still didn’t respond, and her face was shiny with sweat. With a growing sense of dread, he realized something was very wrong with her. He spoke loudly, “High Doctor, wake up!” Nothing changed. He threw his sword to the floor and leaned down, put his arms around her and raised her to a sitting position while he sat down next to her. He shook her, hard, crying, “Imja!” She remained totally unconscious.


	29. Episode 15, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young meets with the King's uncle and is given a task to do in order to save Eun-soo. Choi Young meets the King and asks for his help.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Holding the unconscious Eun-soo in his arms, Choi Young tried to arouse her, crying again, “Imja!” But there was still no reaction. Her head lay on his shoulder, her hair and face damp with sweat. Greatly alarmed, he laid her down and ran for help. But before he could even send for Dr. Jang, the good doctor came galloping on his horse as fast as he could. On lookout, Ji Hul took the doctor’s horse and directed him to the room where Eun-soo lay unconscious. Young met him in the hallway, nearly beside himself with worry. “Something is wrong with High Doctor. I was about to send for you…”

Dr. Jang interrupted him, asking, “Has the poison already started spreading?”

That brought Young to a momentary standstill. “ _Poison?”_ Then, with no time to waste, they both rushed into the room where Eun-soo lay unconscious. Young asked him, “You said poison? How did you know to come here?”

Dr. Jang had opened his medical kit and began to take her pulse while telling him, “Lady Choi sent me here, saying High Doctor had been poisoned.”

Anxiously Young asked, “Who? Why? Since it’s poison, you can use an antidote, right? That’s why you came.”

Dr. Jang wiped her fingers with a cloth and then sniffed it. “There’s no odor. Could it be Seokhwa poison?” Seokhwa slowly paralyzed the body. Young thought that perhaps the medicine she had given him would be of some help. He took out the pill bottle and offered it to the doctor. But the doctor told him that he needed to know what the poison was in order to make an antidote. He picked up one of the sheets of paper and told Young, “I heard the poison was on the edges of the paper.” He sniffed it and again, no odor. “I can take the paper to find out about the poison, but …”

Young grabbed his arm and asked, “I’m asking you if you can save her!”

By way of an answer, Dr. Jang said, “Prince Hyung wants to meet you. He said he’s waiting at his house. He did this to her. He said to go if you want the antidote.”

Young felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. He was the one who had pressured the Prince to go to the Doctor. Stricken, he asked, “How long will she stay alive?”

“If it is Seokhwa poison, her fingers will start paralyzing first. If the paralysis spreads to the internal organs and heart…”

Feeling guilty, angry and frantic with worry all at once, the General shouted at him, “How much longer does she have?!”

“I will do whatever I can… but a day, at the most.”

Almost overcome with emotion, Young looked at Eun-soo for a moment and then stood up, ready to walk out the door. Dr. Jang said, “General?” When he turned to see what the doctor wanted, Dr. Jang looked meaningfully at the floor where Young’s sword lay; he’d been so distracted he’d almost left without it. He picked it up and began running, accompanied by Ji Ho and Ji Hul. As they ran toward the Prince’s house, he gave them instructions, first, to check if someone had followed Doctor Jang. Ji Ho turned back to do that. Then he told Ji Hul to tell pledged uncle that High Doctor was sick and couldn’t move, and to ask him to protect her. Ji Hul left to carry out that order. Young kept running as fast as he could, on and on, until he reached his destination. His mind kept replaying the last moments of the young Prince’s life as he lay suffering in Young’s arms, and then flashed on how Eun-soo had looked as he held her, almost lifeless as well. When he reached the Prince’s quarters, Dae-man and the Suribang swordsman were waiting for him, having been sent there by Lady Choi. Dae-man shouted, “General!” and jumped off the porch to meet him.

As Young strode toward the house, the swordsman told him, “That guy is inside alone, but there’s someone watching outside.” Without even looking to see who it was, Young told him not to let the watcher come in and continued to the doorway of the house. After the General went in, Eum-ja, who had been waiting across the road, began to approach. The swordsman drew his sword in warning, saying, “So you’re that one with hearing powers?” About the same time, Dae-man, who had climbed onto the roof of the house, started whistling and taunting Eum-ja, making sure he wouldn’t be able to hear anything happening inside. The swordsman began slapping his sword against the steps to the house for the same reason. Frustrated, Eum-ja shook his head in disgust and returned to the other side of the road, continuing to watch the house.

Young shoved the door open so hard it slammed into the adjacent wall and strode into the room where the Prince sat, waiting for him. The Prince calmly acknowledged, “You’ve come.”

Breathing heavily from running, the General asked, “Do you have the antidote?” Prince Hyung told him he’d been waiting and walked over to a dining table set for a meal. He asked him to take a seat, indicating the other chair at the table. Growing more rageful by the second, Young set his jaw and stalked over to the table, put his hand under an edge and threw the whole table over, scattering food and plates. Dropping his sword, he picked the Prince up from his chair by the collar and threw him against the wall, breaking furniture and decorations, then picked him up again and held him up in front of him, saying, “ _Where’s the antidote?_ ”

The Prince managed to get out, “You dare to touch royalty?” Young struck him across the face, hard, knocking him into a chest of drawers against the wall. The Prince slid down it onto the floor, one of his lips beginning to bleed.

Young demanded, “The antidote!” as the Prince struggled to his feet.

The Prince wiped blood from his lips and told him, “If you do this, it’s going to be difficult.”

His eyes glistening in anger and desperation, Young said, “I can’t even count the men I’ve killed. But I’ve tried to kill them quickly so they won’t feel unnecessary pain. But this time…” and he drew out his knife. He grabbed the Prince, turned him and slammed him up against the wall face first. He put the point against the back of the Prince’s neck. “I am thinking of dismembering your limbs one by one. So tell me the truth.”

But the Prince wasn’t giving up. “It’s one way or the other for me…”

Young repeated, “Where’s the antidote?”

“Either I become the King…or I die.”

Young pushed the knife in, drawing blood, and pulled it out again. “This is a jab. Next time, I’m cutting into your head.”

The Prince struggled to get the words out, “If you kill me… your woman dies too… She’s your woman, right?”

Young badly wanted to kill this man. But what the Prince said stopped him, barely. He gritted his teeth, struggling with himself for a moment, and then pulled the knife away.

While Young was with the Prince, Eun-soo remained unconscious, in a type of coma. Dr. Jang had two of his assistants come, and they placed incense and medicinal herb censors around the room. The herbs eased her into a dream, where she saw various medicinal herbs and plants spread out on bamboo mats in the sun to dry. She saw a woman with long dark red hair helping another woman and examining a child, but she didn’t see the healer's face. While she dreamed on, Dr. Jang began acupuncture treatment on her in order to slow both her metabolism and the spread of the poison.

Young allowed the Prince to turn around, and they faced each other as the Prince wiped more blood from his lips. The Prince told him, “The woman that’s called High Doctor doesn’t have much time left.”

With his rage temporarily tucked down into a banked fire, Young said, “Tell me…your condition.”

“Everyone says you’re the only one. The one who knows every inch of the palace and can mobilize the Royal Guards.”

“What do you want?” His eyes bored a hole in the Prince’s forehead as he forced himself to focus on the task, whatever it was. He wanted to leave the Prince before he lost control and killed him.

“The Royal Seal. Whether you take or steal it…bring it to me and I’ll give you the antidote.”

Making sure he heard it right, Young repeated, “You want me to bring you the Royal Seal?”

“Hurry…no matter if he’s the best doctor in Goryeo, she won’t live long…that woman.”

He was almost grateful for the task to focus on, for something to do that could save Eun-soo. Young slowly reached down and picked up his sword, gave the Prince a contemptuous glance, and left. Once outside, he handed his sword to Dae-man for safe-keeping and told him to stay there until he returned. Then unarmed, he went to the palace.

The King was taking an early morning walk in the palace’s garden with his retinue, which included Choon-sik and a few other Woodalchi. Two palace guards stood on the steps of a nearby pavilion, guarding the entrance to the garden. Young came up behind them, reached out and grabbed one of their spears and knocked them down with it, then walked over to stand in front of the King, giving him a small bow. Choon-sik greeted him with a smile, “Dae Jang [General]!”

The King stepped forward, also with a smile, and said, “Who’s this, the fugitive criminal?” Young didn’t smile as he asked the King if he’d been well. The King in turn asked his General if he was all right.

With time running short to save Eun-soo, Young immediately got to the point. “I’ve come here to make a request.”

The King still wanted to banter with him, as he was so pleased to see him. “First, I think I would need to give an order to catch you and make you kneel down.”

The General only said, “Your Majesty.” The somber expression on his face hadn’t changed, and it told the King something serious was afoot.

The King told his guards and retinue to step back so he could talk with Young more informally. When they looked concerned, the King told them, “This person is Choi Young. All of you step back.” And they did, although they could still hear the two men’s conversation. He turned to his General and asked, “What is it?”

“The High Doctor has been poisoned.” At the King’s shocked look, he continued, “To get the antidote, I need something of Your Majesty’s.”

“Mine? What is it that you need?”

“I need your Seal.”

The King couldn’t believe his ears. “The Seal? My Royal Seal, is that what you’re saying?”

“Only that can save the High Doctor.”

The King closed his eyes for a moment at what was to him an impossible request. “Look here, Dae Jang, don’t you know what it means for me to give up my Seal?”

But Young reminded him of his responsibility for Eun-soo. “Because of Your Majesty’s order, I brought her here, and because of Your Majesty’s order, I kept her here. She saved the Queen’s life. And she stood by your side no matter what. Such a person…” he swallowed, finding it hard to even speak of it, “is about to die. Please give me your Royal Seal.”

“Who’s the one that wants my Seal?” Young replied that it was Prince Hyung. The King huffed in derision at the idea of giving his Seal to the Prince.

Unfazed by the King’s reaction, Young added, “Your Majesty, there is little time left.”

Beginning to become angry at such an outrageous request, the King responded, “You’re asking me to give you my Seal because of one woman?”

The General didn’t flinch or back off. “Won’t you?”

“Didn’t you tell me I was your King? Didn’t you ask me to take you as my subject?”

“You have told me that I am your friend and one of your people. One of your people, right now…is asking you for help. Do you still not know…why we need a King?” As the two men argued back and forth, the King’s guards and attendants were becoming increasingly alarmed by the conversation.

The King responded, “Giving up my Seal means giving up my power as a king!”

Going for a deeper understanding, Young said, “That Seal, who gave it to you, anyway?”

But the King was too focused on the power of the Seal to hear the deeper meaning. He said, “You have lost your mind! You cannot do this to me!” Hearing that, Choon-sik and Do-chi stepped forward, ready to carry out his orders.

Young told him that if he didn’t give him the Seal, he would take it. Angered, the King told his guards to capture “that bastard.” Choon-sik stepped forward, drawing his sword, telling the King, “I have received your order.” He knew it was unlikely he and the other guards would prevail; Young was the best fighter he’d ever seen, armed or not. Nonetheless it was his duty to try. The other Woodalchi drew their swords as well. Do-chi put his arm in the front of the King and moved him back out of the way of the coming fight.

Before attacking, Choon-sik said to his General, “Do you not have any weapon?”

“No I don’t.” Young had decided that, regardless of what happened, he would not kill or seriously injure any of his Woodalchi or other palace guards. So he simply added, “Try to stop me…like Woodalchi.”

Four guards went for him. Young disarmed the first guard to reach him with chop to his wrist; the man wouldn’t be using that wrist any longer that day. He disarmed two others, taking one of their swords and hitting them with the flat of the sword blade in addition to kicks and punches. Once they were out of action, he pointed the sword at the fourth guard’s throat, then flipped his sword up in the air toward the guard, who automatically tried to catch it. As soon as he reached for it, Young kicked him to the ground. As he fell back, the guard’s sword also flew into the air and landed on Young’s boot, whereupon the General flipped it up with his boot and caught the hilt in his hand, ready to continue fighting. 

Choon-sik had held back, hoping the other guards would tire Young out enough that he’d have a chance to capture him. But Young had disarmed them in less than a minute with apparent ease. Now Choon-sik had no option but to take on his former commander himself. Just as easily as he had done with the others, Young blocked the other man’s sword slashes, but didn't take any offensive action with the sword in his own hand. Finally Young disarmed him with a chop to the wrist and a harsh blow with the flat of the sword to his shoulder, hurting Choon-sik’s sword arm and capturing his sword. Now Young held two swords; he threw the other man’s heavier sword to the ground. They looked at each other for a few moments as Choon-sik held his painful shoulder. Young’s face was all business, and Choon-sik knew he was outmatched. Still, Choon-sik tried attacking with his fists. Young simply blocked his blows and eventually shoved him to the ground. He turned to the King, briefly bowed to him and left, appearing to head for the palace and, presumably, the room where the Royal Seal was kept. Choon-sik called for the alarm to be sounded, putting all the guards in the area on alert.

Young left the garden and went through an opening in an adjacent wall, arriving at an open plaza. Woodalchi archers guarded the area from a wall above the plaza, and they began to shoot toward their former commander. He abruptly stopped as a few warning arrows hit the path in front of him. He knocked one or two others aside that came closer. He looked up at the Woodalchi on the wall and then began running across the plaza. Dol-bae, the Woodalchi closest to him outside of Dae-man, couldn’t bring himself to order them to shoot at Young again, and he made it across the plaza. Dol-bae did warn others that he was continuing to head toward the palace. They ran to try to catch him.

Other Woodalchi came running after hearing the alarm, and Choon-sik directed them to the palace and the room with the Seal. He had also noticed Young’s care to not to seriously harm anyone, so he shouted to his men that the enemy didn’t have a weapon and they should attack him without any fear. He would not harm them.

Ju-seok, just arriving on the scene, stopped the Vice-Commander and asked, “What do you mean, ‘The General has invaded the court?’”

Choon-sik told him, “Right now, he is an enemy who is trying to steal the Royal Seal!” But Ju-seok wondered how they could block him. Besides having excellent fighting skills, their commander had learned how to be extremely stealthy during his years with the Red Crescent Moon army.

But Young wanted to be seen. He came to another group of Woodalchi led by Deok-man, who drew their swords and hurried to block his path. Looking regretful but determined, Deok-man told him, “If you come any closer, you’ll get hurt.”

Young only replied, “Try it.” One soldier charged him and the others followed. Young kicked one man and hit another with his fists. Leaping high into the air, Young avoided additional blows and kicked out at a third man, then landed and whirled, kicking yet another man aside and then using his fists. By that time he had come to Deok-man. Whirling again, he grabbed Deok-man’s sword arm and got behind him, holding Deok-man’s hand and sword to his throat and using him as a shield. Deok-man struggled, trying to pull his arm loose, but Young held him fast. Deok-man yelled to the other men, “Stab him!” knowing that was likely get himself killed as well. One man threw his sword point first and Deok-man closed his eyes, waiting to die. But Young threw Deok-man aside and in doing so, exposed his left arm. The sword slashed the outside of Young’s arm with a glancing blow as it passed. He used his long legs to kick two other men who had started to get up from the ground and then left, holding his bleeding upper arm. Deok-man began to get up as Young passed him, but his former commander pinned him with a look and shook his head once. Deok-man stayed where he was.

Meanwhile, other Woodalchi had gathered to guard the Royal Seal. The Seal’s red lacquer box sat on a slightly raised base on a table covered with gold trimmed silk cloth. The box was decorated ornately, with a clasp in the shape of a turtle, its shell inlaid with rubies. Among other things, turtles symbolized longevity, so the Yuan emperor was wishing the King a long reign with his gift. The soldiers sealed the room and vigilantly guarded it, inside and out. Everyone was on edge, expecting an attack at any moment from the General. Choon-sik encouraged his men, reminding them that the enemy could not hurt them, and that they must protect the Royal Seal, even it meant slaying the enemy without hesitation.

Do-chi, the King’s primary attendant, had come into the room, serving as the King’s eyes and ears. He was very nervous, as he wasn’t a soldier and they were expecting an attack. He moved toward the side of the room in order to be out of the way in case fighting broke out. But as he did so, something caught his eye on the floor. It was a black shoe with a leg attached to it, sticking out from under a table covered by a long red cloth. He cried out and jumped, immediately drawing the attention of the soldiers near him. Raising the cloth, they found one of the King’s attendants laying there, unconscious. He was an attendant who usually stayed in or near the room, ready to bring the Seal to the King whenever he needed it. The implication was obvious. Choon-sik rushed to the box and opened the turtle clasp. The imprint of the Seal was there but nothing else. Young had hedged his bet, stealing the Seal _before_ approaching the King. Getting the soldiers to run to the room had allowed him to escape from the palace compound.

At the Suribang house, Eun-soo continued to dream on her sickbed. Now she could see that the doctor in her dream was her. She was wearing a different hairstyle and different clothes, and, more importantly, was writing her name in the back of the notebook. While she dreamt, Dr. Jang leaned over to listen to her breathing, which was shallow. Her face was startlingly pale, and the small rise and fall of her chest was the only sign that she was still alive. He took her pulse and anxiously waited for word of the antidote from Young.

Having left the palace, Young came to the Prince’s quarters. The Prince had a baduk game in progress, playing against himself. Young unceremoniously swept the playing stones from the board, set the Royal Seal down in the middle of the board, and asked with no preamble, “Where is it?”

But the Prince didn’t answer right away. He was busy drinking in the sight of the coveted Seal. It was a golden turtle with the seal on the bottom and a red silk cord attached to it. After a moment he asked in wonder, “You really brought it?”

The Prince leaned over to pick it up, but Young stopped him, saying, “The antidote first.” The Prince objected, saying that he’d need to check if it was the real Seal. But Young replied tersely, “I am different from you.” The Prince sat up again, looking a little miffed at Young’s comment. But he reached to a teapot by his side and lifted the lid, removing a small covered pottery bottle from inside. He set it down on the baduk board, and Young immediately swept it up and put it inside his jacket, saying, “Give me one reason not to kill you.” But the Prince had also hedged his bet. He told the him that the High Doctor would need more than one dose of the antidote. She would have to take the antidote once every three days, and she had to do that seven times to recover. In the meantime she wouldn’t die. Young didn’t try to hide his disgust when the Prince added that he had used the poison several times, so he knew precisely the times involved for a person to keep living. He also reprimanded the General, that he shouldn’t speak to him, a King’s relative, so disrespectfully. In fact he might become his King. But Young said only, “I will come back for this in three days.”

Surprised, the Prince said, “What! I thought you would be more enraged. Don’t you have anything to say?”

Already on his way out the door, Young said over his shoulder, “I don’t talk to those I don’t consider human.”

Young quickly returned to their room at the Suribang’s and gave the antidote to Dr. Jang. In turn, he opened it and tipped the small amount of liquid between Eun-soo’s lips. She was still unconscious, but fortunately her throat muscles worked autonomically to swallow it. While they watched for signs of her recovery, Young told him about her needing seven doses of the antidote, and the doctor replied that he’d take the small amount left in the bottle to analyze and try to develop an antidote of their own. Then the doctor inquired about what he did to get the antidote. Young replied, “He asked to exchange it for something unnecessary…so I did.” Dr. Jang asked what that was, but Young ignored the question, commenting only that her hands were too cold. Holding one them, he added, “They used to be very warm…I know that.” Dr. Jang tried to reassure him that if it was the right antidote, she would get better. He encouraged Young to talk to her, saying that it was likely her senses would return before she could move. If she awoke and couldn’t move, and no one was there to explain, she might go into a panic. Young clasped her hand in both of his to warm it and stayed by her side, waiting.

As soon as he could, Prince Hyung took the Royal Seal to Ki Chul and asked him to examine it. Ki Chul wanted to know how he’d gotten it, and he told him that Choi Young had brought it to him. Surprised, Ki Chul looked at Eum-ja, who verified that indeed Young had come to the Prince’s house near the palace. Ki Chul wondered why Young would do that, and the Prince suggested that he must not like the current King. But Ki Chul was very unhappy. The Prince had Young in his grasp and let him go back to the High Doctor?! He’d been searching for that person throughout the city. The Prince explained that he wasn’t a warrior and he only read books; there was no way he could have captured the General. Then Ki Chul turned on Eum-ja, shouting at him. He’d been there too; why hadn’t he stopped him or at least followed him? But he said that the General wasn’t alone. He would have been stopped or captured himself if he’d tried to follow him. The Prince didn’t like shouting, so he interrupted, asking Ki Chul if he didn’t want the Seal. Hadn’t he planned to steal it himself? Ki Chul turned back to the Prince and nodded, saying that was true. He asked the Prince what he was thinking to do with it. Smiling, the Prince said, “Didn’t I tell you? I don’t have any thoughts. Put it to use as you see fit.” Then Prince Hyung left with the cryptic comment that he would see Choi Young again, so he would have other chances to find the High Doctor.

Meanwhile, the King was trying to limit the damage. Choon-sik had had the unenviable task of explaining to the King what Young had done, and that they had lost the Seal. The King’s eyes had widened as the shock of it sank in. Ki Chul would quickly send word to the emperor that the King had lost his Seal. How on earth would he explain it? Then, after some consideration, the King explained to his Woodalchi guards that what happened early in the morning could not be known outside the palace under any circumstances. If anyone asked about the ruckus, they should say they were training. He repeated that no one had invaded the palace that morning and there was no lost item, and he asked if they understood. But Choon-sik’s guilt warred with what the King was telling them, to ignore what had happened. He couldn’t stop himself from falling to his knees, and the other Woodalchi quickly followed. With bowed head, Choon-sik cried, “Your Majesty. Our incompetence caused this. I was commanding the guards, so I am responsible. I do not deserve to lead them. Please punish me.”

That only irritated the King further, who closed his eyes in frustration. “What was I talking about just now? What did you hear? I said nothing happened! So why should I punish you? If any of you speak of it, and people find out what I lost and to whom…then I will properly punish you. Do you understand?!” Keeping his head bowed, Choon-sik assured him they would obey.

After meeting with Prince Hyung, Ki Chul met with his brother, Won, and Yang-sa, scoffing at the Prince’s story that Choi Young had come to him on his own and brought the Seal. He muttered that he knew Choi Young very well, and the Prince’s story just didn’t make sense. It irked him that the Prince was playing some sort of game of his own. Nevertheless, he now had the Seal. Yang-sa, though, raised another issue. They had deployed his private army all over the country searching for the High Doctor. Only half of his mercenaries were still in the capital city, and they had observed some suspicious activities among the palace soldiers; the royal army might be mobilizing. His two advisors recommended bringing back the soldiers that were outside the city, but Ki Chul was having none of it. He said he wanted all of his mercenaries searching the country for the High Doctor, so minutely as though they were searching for head lice. While they were doing that, on one side they’d pressure the King with the matter of the Seal, and on the other they’d keep playing along with the Prince’s game. He thought the High Doctor would get caught somewhere between the two.


	30. Episode 15, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eun-soo awakens and the couple grows closer as Young cares for her in her illness. Ki Chul confronts the King about his Royal Seal. Il-shin becomes an ally of the King's uncle.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Later that day, the Queen, hearing what had happened, came looking for the King. She found him standing next to his desk and staring at the wall. Once her attendants had left, he told her, his voice shaking with emotion, “Choi Young betrayed me.”

The Queen said, “I can’t believe that.”

“He said it to my face. He asked me to give up my throne to save the High Doctor.” The Queen asked if he had actually said that, to give up his throne. He replied, “Then what could he mean? He said to hand over my Royal Seal. He will give it to my uncle…to the one who intends to dethrone me!”

“I…cannot believe that.”

The King stepped down from his desk and approached the Queen. “Of course you can’t! Even I don’t believe it, even though it happened right in front of my face! Even if everyone in the world turned their backs on me, I thought that at least Choi Young would stay by my side. I really believed that.”

The Queen asked him for a favor. Even though it would be hard to do, would he repeat what the General had said, word by word? He frowned, asking, “Word by word?” He beat his fist against his chest as he cried, “The words that ripped my heart, again?!” The Queen said yes, to please tell her. Reluctantly, the King began, “He said he brought her here on my order. That he kept her here on my order. So I must save her. And to give him the Royal Seal. He said that very boldly.”

“So what did you say?”

“What could I say? I asked him if he wanted me to hand over my Seal for a woman. And he replied, _‘Can’t I?’_ ” Very agitated, the King had started pacing as he talked. “He looked so confident when he asked for the Seal. He was scolding ME, his KING!”

He stopped for moment, recalling Young describing himself as one of his people, and as one of his people, asking the King for help. His answer had been that handing over the Royal Seal meant handing over his throne. But his General had said something else then: _“That Royal Seal…just who gave you that?”_ He stopped pacing and stood there, thinking about that last comment.

His Queen tried to prod him, saying, “Your Majesty?” He looked over at her, then at his desk. Hurrying over to the desk, he found a document that he had earlier stamped with the Royal Seal. He read the Chinese characters on the image of the Seal. Then he slowly sat down, stunned.

He admitted, “I never realized it. Do you know what’s inscribed on the Seal of Goryeo? It says, ‘Sealed by the Yuan Emperor’s Son-in-law.’” The King felt ashamed. The message on the Seal essentially treated the King as a subject of Yuan and ignored Goryeo as a separate country. He told the Queen, “And here I was holding onto this seal from Yuan and thought it was so precious… So I said this to him, ‘You must be out of your mind.’”

Now that he was talking, the King’s memories of his conversation with Young wouldn’t stop. He heard again his General telling him that he was one of his people, asking the King to save her, and his scolding question, “Do you still not know why we need a King?”

The King said aloud, “I’ve been loudly insisting to the nobles in court, ‘My people are there…and for the sake of my people…for my people…’” His words ground to a halt. In a few moments he spoke again with growing insight, “Queen, I don’t know my people [the common people]. I’ve never met them. The one I know… is only Choi Young.” With a voice full of regret, he added, “Do you know what I said to him? _‘That bastard is crazy, capture him.’_ ” The Queen came over, and standing behind his chair, put her arms around him to comfort him. He put a hand over one of hers, his eyes glistening with tears. He wondered where Young was and how he was doing, and if the High Doctor was still alive.

While the King and Queen were talking, Dae-man was still on guard duty at the Suribang house. He heard a noise outside and instantly became alert. Two of Ki Chul’s mercenary soldiers tore open the entrance door and came in. He quickly flipped out of sight and ran to tell the Manbo brother and sister. They came running just as the soldiers were beginning to open more doors, searching for the High Doctor. They asked the soldiers what had brought them there and what was happening, then began their banter. The sister exclaimed, “Ahh…Following your master’s orders…These men are suffering because of higher ups!” Her brother smiled at them and agreed, adding that lowly people should help each other. The two soldiers tried to be gruff and insistent, but they were no match for the the two siblings. The sister asked if they’d eaten and offered to make them something warm and delicious. The brother told them that her rice soup was the best in Goryeo, absolutely the best, and that they needed to eat in order to work. Tired and hungry, the soldiers allowed themselves to be taken away by the siblings into their kitchen. Later the soldiers left with full stomachs and ears ringing from the constant banter of the siblings.

While the Manbo siblings kept the soldiers occupied, Young sat on a stool next to Eun-soo’s bed, leaning forward and talking to her. So different from his usual stoic demeanor, he continued to hold one of her hands in both of his, smiling as he told her he’d taught her how to ride a horse and use a knife, and next he’d teach her how to fish. But if she didn’t like that, he’d teach her something else. Then he told her about a game people played at the Mid-Autumn Festival. While he talked, though, she was having another dream. This time she was dressed in her normal Goryeo clothes, running along a path, desperately searching for someone or something. She finally came to a house and entered it. There she saw Young’s lifeless body sprawled on the floor. She sat down and lifted his head and shoulders into her arms, holding him while she began to weep. Filled with grief, she kissed him slowly and lovingly on the forehead as tears ran down her cheeks.

Beside her sickbed, a perfectly healthy Young continued telling her about the Mid-Autumn Festival, and how the streets were crowded with people who danced and played all night long. He told her that she’d really like it… and then he felt her hand move and heard her moan. She kept moaning, almost whimpering, as though she was in pain. Alarmed, he touched her head and asked her, “Imja, are you awake? Imja! What is wrong?” He lifted her by the shoulders and held her head against his chest, stroking her hair to comfort her. She had started to sob, and said over and over, “Don’t…don’t die. Don’t die.” He called to Dr. Jang, telling him she had spoken, but why was she crying like that? What was wrong? Dr. Jang took her pulse, telling him that it was flowing smoothly. With a relieved smile Dr. Jang said that she was back. Young continued to hold her close in his arms, stroking her hair. Her sobs gradually calmed, although she still remained unconscious.

Later that night Lady Choi came to the Suribang house and, seeing Dae-man, asked, “Where is the criminal?” Once she found her nephew, they went outside to talk. He told her all that had happened. She asked about the High Doctor and he told her that she seemed a little better and was breathing well, but that she had to receive seven doses of the antidote. She commented with a sigh, “It’s hard to believe there’s a person who’s even worse than Ki Chul!”

Filled with regret, Young said, “I sent a man like that to her.” She reached over and gave him some rare pats on the knee to comfort him. Then he asked for news of the palace and the Woodalchi. He felt a bit disappointed at how easily he’d been able to trick and overcome the Woodalchi with whom he’d fought. He had tried to teach them to read the rival’s thoughts rather than his movements. But she didn’t mention them, saying to him that he’d been convicted of bribery and now he’d become a robber. What would he do now?

“First, I have to save the High Doctor.”

“And then?”

With resignation in his voice, he said, “I have to send her back.”

“To the heavenly world?” He nodded.

“And then?”

“I don’t know…” Then he chuckled, asking, “Should I go to the heavenly world with her?” When she didn’t answer, he asked, “How is His Majesty?”

She replied dryly, “How do you think?”

He told her that the Prince and Ki Chul would start playing with the Seal, adding, “Then those blockhead scholars will start harassing the King.”

“The Queen said that His Majesty realized what your words meant.”

He smiled at that. “He would have.” She told him that Ki Chul was going to hold an emergency court meeting the next morning. She also mentioned that Il-shin was holding conversations with Prince Hyung. Young told her, “As I expected.”

Very worried about the King, his aunt said, “Right now, His Majesty is alone. Won’t you come back?” He looked thoughtful but didn’t respond, so she repeated, “You won’t return?”

He stood up with a sigh, knowing he couldn’t help the King right then. “Didn’t I tell you? I have to first save the High Doctor, and send her back… and after that…” his voice trailed off. His aunt sighed deeply, very worried for the King.

Coming back to their room, Young met Dr. Jang, who was on his way out. Dr. Jang reassured him that he’d try to make more of the antidote from the small bit of it left in the bottle, and that the High Doctor seemed to be all right, although her fingers were still numb. He would also send some herbal medicine that would help relieve the numbness. Arriving at their room, Young saw that Eun-soo was awake. She turned her head and said in a weak voice, “I heard I almost died.”

He bowed his head and said, “It is my fault.”

“You always say that everything is your fault.”

“I sent Prince Hyung to you. I even threatened him to bring the diary.”

Trying to relieve his guilt, she said, “So? I heard you went after that guy and got the antidote.” She held out her hand to him and told him, “Come closer.” When he sat down next to her, she grasped his arm, trying to pull herself up. He asked what she was doing. “Help me sit up.” When he asked why she wanted to do that, she told him, “You said it’s your fault, so just do it.” He pulled her up to a sitting position and she asked him to sit behind her. He looked surprised, as that was a very intimate thing to do, but she said she wanted to lean on him. He moved behind her, taking her shoulders in his hands and adjusting her against his chest and shoulder. He told her about needing to take the antidote six more times. But she barely heard him, preoccupied with her dreams. She told him she wasn’t sure what the dream about her was…a house she’d never seen and herself coming out of it, dressed in clothes she’d never seen.

He asked, “Is that why you cried?”

“In one dream, I saw you, but…”

“Me? I was in your dream?”

But she changed the subject. “By the way, partner, I solved the dates before I lost consciousness. I found out when heaven’s door will open.” But she didn’t look happy at the prospect.

After a pause he asked, “When is it?”

“In another month. If I don’t go back then, it won’t open again for another 67 years, according to the numbers in that book. If I want to return before I die, I have to go that day.” She felt sad, and for his part, he pulled her closer to him and put an arm around her, gently taking one of her hands in his, his heart leaden with the knowledge of when he’d lose her.

The next day, as the King approached the royal office for the emergency court meeting, he stopped. He turned to look at his retinue, took a few deep breaths, and then went in. At the long table, the King stood at one end and Ki Chul at the other end, with several advisors between them. The King asked, “Is this the emergency court meeting that the Prince of the Court has called for?” Assured that it was so, he sat down and told them to begin. Ki Chul began addressing the King with his title, but the King cut him off, saying, “Speak plainly.” 

Ki Chul began again, “My sister, the Empress of Yuan, sent me a message. As we all know, she’s a Goryeo woman who became the Empress. So she can’t help but worry about her homeland.” The King closed his eyes for a moment to get himself under control. After all, he had known this was coming. The other man went on, “One thing has her deeply concerned. She’s heard that Goryeo’s new King is not using the Royal Seal given by the Emperor. She doesn’t know how to interpret it. Is that true?”

Il-shin and the other advisors looked concerned to hear this. Il-shin asked the King, “Could you have…lost it?”

Ki Chul responded with a sly smile, “That couldn’t be. The Royal Seal represents this nation. Losing it would mean the King is not worthy of the throne.” Some other advisors leaped in to defend the King, saying that was an outrageous remark; the Seal couldn’t possibly have been lost. Just then Prince Hyung came in, late as usual so he could make an entrance, and sat down next to and slightly behind the King. Ki Chul told them there was an easy way to allay Yuan’s concerns. Would the King show them the Royal Seal? They all waited for the King’s answer.

The King had been staring at Ki Chul throughout the conversation, thinking about what he had decided to do. Still staring, he paused and finally replied, “That Seal, I got rid of it.” Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise; what was this? The King continued in a strong voice, “That seal says it’s the seal of the Yuan Emperor’s son-in-law. That’s true, but before that, I am Goryeo’s King. Therefore I will make a new seal befitting my position.”

Ki Chul asked, “It can’t be… you’re saying you got rid of the Royal Seal given by the Emperor and that you’re going to use a new one?” The King told him that was correct. Ki Chul went on to say, “The Emperor may interpret it as rebellion.”

“Well, I will be sad if he does,” replied the King, looking confident and not likely to be sad at all. An advisor addressed the King, telling him that was not something he should decide on his own, that he should ask the council’s advice. The King told him, “Let’s discuss it then. Tell me what to engrave on the new Royal Seal.”

Then Il-shin spoke up. “Your order might put all of us in danger. If you were to anger the Emperor of Yuan, it could lead to a war and the people will suffer. We could all die.”

The King turned to him in disgust. “So, it was all talk? You tell me to stand against Yuan and become an independent kingdom, and to make this nation strong and proud. You nagged me about it every time we met. Was that only talk?” Il-shin told him that it was great to have a vision, but he needed to think about the people. The King asked him, “Have you ever asked the people what they truly want? Or are you scared?” Il-shin didn’t reply. The King stood up and announced, “Call the ministers of war and defense to my quarters. In order to prepare for Yuan’s movement, we’ll reinforce the troops at the borders.” Then the King left. Ki Chul realized dethroning this king wasn’t going to be so easy.

After the meeting broke up, several conversations ensued among those who had attended. Teacher Ikjae said to his student, “Do you really think the King intends to get rid of the Yuan seal?” Lee Saek replied that the King was right about it. They would have to stop using it sooner or later. But Ikjae told him, “Still, causing war over one Seal?” His student, however, told him that he must know that the King was right.

Il-shin saw that this was an opportune moment to brag about what he had been planning. He told the other advisors, “There is something else we have to take care of first, in order to protect the peace and prosperity of the great nation, Goryeo. The one who has caused this. Time after time, trusting Yuan’s backing, he threatens the King as well as the Court.”

Lee Saek asked, “Are you talking about the Prince of the Court, Ki Chul?”

Il-shin nodded and replied, “The rest of you can continue to be worried and angry with your tongue only. I will no longer live like that. I will see you later.” Chuckling to himself, he left them.

As for the King, after leaving the meeting he asked Choon-sik if the Seal incident was still a secret. He assured the King it was. The King warned him, “If the story gets out, your General can no longer come back.”

Il-shin looked for the King’s uncle and found him in a quiet corner, reading a book at a small table. He sat down across from the Prince. Based on that day’s meeting, he told the Prince that it seemed that the King wasn’t thinking straight and was taking a big risk with Yuan. The Prince looked up from his book and smiled, telling him that now they had the justification to act, and they would start an insurrection for the sake of Goryeo. Il-shin hadn’t realized that that’s what the Prince had in mind. Plotting strategy, the Prince said, “In a few days, Prince of the Court’s private soldiers that were sent out to search for the High Doctor will return to Gae Kyeong. If that happens, we have already lost our opportunity.” Il-shin was flustered that this was happening so soon. But the Prince continued, “It has to be done quickly. Timing is crucial to success. If we wait, information will be leaked, and the momentum will be lost.”

The Prince told him to go meet with Ja-won, who had been dismissed from his position at court and had now aligned himself with Prince Hyung. Then the Prince got up to leave, but Il-shin stopped him with a question. “If I go and attack Prince of the Court and succeed in revolt, can you guarantee that his house and position will be mine?” But the Prince reminded him that he could only guarantee that if he became the king. But Il-shin worried, “How will you become King? If things don’t go right, I could just become a puppet used by you.” The Prince reassured him that he would take care of that, patted him on the shoulder, and told him to just do what he’d been ordered to do. With the Prince’s reassurance, Il-shin no longer hesitated; he began to put his plan into action.

But Il-shin’s actions hadn’t gone unnoticed. The Suribang were tracking his activities, as the General had asked them to do. Il-shin seemed to be very busy, having meetings day and night with Ja-won and other disaffected or dismissed advisors, as well as with the leaders of the palace guards. The Manbo siblings, sitting at a small table at the other end of the room from where Eun-soo lay, reported this to Young as he was putting pillows behind Eun-soo to help prop herself up in bed. Once he finished helping her, Young sat down with the them and continued their conversation. They wanted to know how much longer their young warriors had to follow Il-shin and Ja-won; they were needed for other things. Young wasn’t sure. He told them, “That bastard framed me and got me kicked out, and I think he wants the Woodalchi in the palm of his hand. I want to know why he’s trying so hard to gather the armed forces…” Then he noticed a bundle of herbs given to them by Dr. Jang to make a tea tonic for Eun-soo. His pledged aunt had soaked the bundle in water to make the tea and was wringing it out into a drinking bowl, but not much of it was going into the bowl. Young took the bundle from her and wrung it out more forcefully with his strong hands, filling the bowl. As he did so, his pledged uncle skeptically asked him if he hoped that by gathering all this information and reporting it to the King, that the King would be grateful and take Young back into his service. But Young scornfully dismissed the question, saying, “For you merchants…If you get nothing in return you can’t do anything, can you?!”

Young took the bowl of tonic over to Eun-soo and sat down on the bed next to her. He held out the bowl to her, but she didn’t take it. She said, “It looks bitter.”

Chuckling, he told her, “Well, it’s medicine. Did you expect it to be sweet?” Her hands were under the covers of the bed, and she asked him to help her drink it. He looked a little nonplussed, but then moved up closer to her. Telling her that it wasn’t hot, so she should drink it all down at once, he held the bowl to her lips with one hand while putting his other hand under the bowl to catch any drips. As he tilted it for her to drink, she took one taste and stopped, making a face; it was really bitter. To help her, he got up, turned around to face the same direction as she did, and sat down again right next to her shoulder. He put his arm around her to pull her more upright, and held the cup up again, saying, “Here, in one go. Drink it, drink it all,” tipping the bowl into her lips, and coaching her with, “There you go,” as she swallowed it all down. He smiled at her as she made another face, then turned her head away and coughed. The siblings watched all this and smiled knowingly at each other to see him caring so tenderly for her.

Young put down the bowl and told Eun-soo that he was going to get the second dose of the antidote. She asked him if he was going to meet Prince Hyung, and that he should beat him.

He laughed and said, “I did beat him!”

“When you meet him, will you ask him something? If there was a second part in that notebook. I saw that notebook in my dream. There was a second part, after the part with the coordinates.”

“Are you asking if what came out in that dream is true?”

“Yes, if that part doesn’t exist, it was just a dream. I just want to make sure it was only a dream.” He told her he’d ask. He picked up his sword and stopped right before leaving the room, turning back to look at her. She smiled at him and he returned her smile with a tender gaze.

But as soon as Young left, Eun-soo collapsed, her head lolling to one side. The Manbo sister ran over to her, asking what was wrong. Eun-soo took her hands from under the covers, showing that she couldn’t move them; they hung limply from her wrists. The poison had returned. She hadn’t wanted Young to know how bad it was. The sister began rubbing Eun-soo’s hands and anxiously asking her brother, “What should we do? What do we do?” But there wasn’t anything to do except wait for the second dose of the antidote.

Soon Young arrived at Prince Hyung’s quarters. He noticed that Eum-ja was still there, watching the entrance, but he didn’t say anything to him. As soon as he entered, he asked, “What is today’s condition?” The Prince again seemed to be playing a baduk game with himself and didn’t answer. Young threw his scabbard on the table holding the game board and sat down across from the Prince, looking at him with disgust. The General demanded again, “Condition. Tell me.”

Without looking up, the Prince told him, “To sit there and talk about the world with me all night long. That is today’s condition. It would be even better if you played baduk with me.” The Prince looked up, reassuring him, “Just until the sun comes up.”

Young hated this man with every fiber of his being but kept it tamped down, concerned about Eun-soo. He replied, “When the sun comes up, it’ll be three days then.” The Prince acknowledged that the timing would be close. He reiterated that he’d used that poison before, and one time the poisoned person had received the antidote an hour too late and died. He said this as casually as if he had been talking about the weather. Then he asked Young if he played baduk.

Young was having trouble restraining himself. The Prince clearly wanted him to be fearful and intimidated. He didn’t trust himself to reply. Instead he shoved the baduk table with his heel, put his feet on top of it, then crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at the Prince. After some time he began to doze off, having had almost no sleep for the past few days. Meanwhile the Prince continued playing baduk. After some time the Prince spoke again, saying that playing baduk with oneself could be entertaining in its own way; he was competing against himself. Young suddenly opened his eyes, becoming alert, not because the Prince was speaking, but because he had heard something from outside the house. He slowly sat up, took his feet off the table, and picked up his scabbard. The Prince, seemingly oblivious, asked him, “Can a swordsman also do that, compete with oneself?”

At that point Ki Chul entered the room. Surprised at seeing Young, he asked, “What is this criminal-at-large doing here?” Young told him to ask the man across from him. Wondering what was going on, Ki Chul told the Prince, “I thought I told you to tell me whenever you meet this man.” But the Prince only replied that his pledged brother had been following him, so he must have known who came to his house. He asked him to sit down.

Ki Chul frowned, suspicious of the Prince. The Prince was definitely playing a separate game from the one on which he and Ki Chul had agreed. The Prince told both of them, “I arranged this occasion. This man, Choi Young, is almost one of my men now.” Young didn’t say anything, deciding to see where this went. The Prince turned to Ki Chul, saying, “Prince of the Court, you are the one who brought me this far. So aren’t we all in the same boat now? I thought it good to meet and drink…”

But Ki Chul stayed focused on Young. He asked him, “Since when have you taken his side?” Young just tipped his head to the side with a questioning look at Prince Hyung. The Prince asked Ki Chul once again to have a seat. With a deeply skeptical look, he sat down between the Prince and Young. The Prince wondered aloud what time it was.

While the three men were sitting at Prince Hyung’s quarters, palace guards attacked Ki Chul’s home, breaking down the outer doors and slaughtering the outnumbered mercenaries on the premises. As soon as they had started, Il-shin went to King and told him what was happening. The King was nearly speechless as Il-shin repeated smugly, “I sent them. What Your Majesty could not do, I did it. There should be about 2,000 royal guards that are attacking the residence of the Prince of the Court at this time.”

Alarmed, Choon-sik cried, “You sent _all_ 2,000? What about the King’s security?!”

The King was very angry. “You mobilized the army without my knowledge?!”

But Il-shin only felt proud of himself, remarking, “The man that you keep so close, Choi Young, that man would not have even dreamt about it. I will bring you the head of the one that threatens you, My King.”

The King shouted to Choon-sik, “Capture that man! He dared to mobilize my army!” The Woodalchi began to do that, but several palace guards ran into the room and prevented them from arresting Il-shin.

Protected by the guards, Il-shin revealed the real reason for what he was doing. “For 10 years in Yuan, I lived only for you. I was truly happy to escort you back to Goryeo. But Your Majesty never noticed me or recognized my loyalty.” At those words, Choon-sik ordered the Woodalchi to protect the King, and they formed a line between the King and Il-shin and his guards. Once Il-shin left, the Woodalchi escorted the King to his quarters, fearing for his safety.

Meanwhile, at Prince Hyung’s house, Young heard a commotion from outside and went to a screened window to listen. Outside, the two young Suribang warriors had come running to give Young the news about the attack on Ki Chul’s home. Dae-man followed soon after and hid behind a pillar, waiting for an opportunity to find a way in. But now Eum-ja guarded the entrance, and he had Hwa Su-in with him. Adding to the commotion, Yang-sa came running to the house with two guards accompanying him. He ran right for the entrance and rushed in, crying, “My Lord! It’s an attack!” Yang-sa briefly took in the scene, surprised to see Young, then turned back to Ki Chul, breathing heavily. “The royal soldiers have come! There are too many! We can’t defend ourselves!”

Alarmed, Ki Chul stood and began to leave, then suddenly stopped and said, “No. The current King isn’t that daring.” Turning and looking at Young, he added, “Especially since you’re not by his side.” Then he turned to the Prince. “You’re the one who called me and my pledged siblings here tonight. So we would leave the house…” He called on his inner freezing power, and a frozen mist began to gather around his right hand. He approached the Prince, threatening him.

But in a flash Young had his sword out and at Ki Chul’s throat, telling him, “This man cannot die yet.” He still needed more of the antidote for Eun-soo. Ki Chul turned his anger on Young while Prince Hyung smiled to see his plan working perfectly.

Meanwhile, at Ki Chul’s mansion, his blood brother, Won, was running from the palace guards, trying to find a place to hide or barricade himself against them. He ran into the lower level and was finally cornered in a storeroom. He grabbed a tall metal candle stand to defend himself, but he wasn’t a warrior. A guard easily ran him through with his sword. Leaving Won's body on the floor, the palace soldiers looked through the storeroom. One of them found the chest with Hwata's relics inside and cried, “It’s here!” They quickly carried it off.

The stand-off at Prince Hyung’s place continued, with Ki Chul asking Young again if he’d really become one of the Prince’s men. Keeping his sword at Ki Chul’s throat, Young told him to stop talking nonsense and to go take care of the attack on his house. Ki Chul turned to Yang-sa and asked how many soldiers were near the capital city that they could mobilize. Yang-sa told him there were 800 or 900. Enraged by what was happening, he replied, “As soon as they are mobilized, we are attacking the palace. Take the King as hostage. We’ll use him for the bargaining, either with you, you bastard Choi Young, or the Prince. Since the entire Royal Army is at my house, the palace is an empty house.” Then he left. Young became alarmed for the King as the other man spoke, but Prince Hyung’s smile only widened.

After Ki Chul left, Young turned to point his sword at the Prince’s throat. “You! What are you?”

But the Prince remained calm, saying only, “It is still far from daylight…so couldn’t we talk about that? Or…are you thinking of giving up on the antidote and running to your King?” Young had been put in an impossible quandary.

Much was happening that night. The King was hurrying through the palace with his guards. And Eun-soo, on her sickbed at the Suribang house, lost consciousness as the poison started to take effect once again.


	31. Episode 16, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ki Chul attacks the palace, causing the King to flee. Choi Young rescues the queen, and the royal couple take up residence in a nearby village. The King's uncle sits on the throne in the palace, ostensibly as temporary ruler.

**Gae Kyeong and Hyeongo Village**

Choi Young was momentarily torn between obtaining the antidote for Eun-soo and protecting the King from Ki Chul’s attack. But he quickly decided on his next steps, first calling to the Suribang spearman, Ji Ho, to come in. He told him urgently, “Go to the palace and deliver this message to Woodalchi, to escort His Majesty and the Queen out of the palace. There is no need to defend or counterattack. Escape and leave the court.” The young man left with the message. Then Young slammed the bottom of his scabbard on the table in front of the Prince and sat down across from him. “I’ve finally figured it out, what sort of bastard you are.”

The Prince only responded, “When I give out the third antidote, it should be under this condition: to be respectful when you are addressing royalty.”

But Young snarled, “You!” [using a very informal and impolite form]. “The only thing you have is your three-inch long tongue, right? You’re not even smart. To go against me, you should have at least been loyal to the Prince of the Court.” But the Prince, smiling, told him that trust could always be regained. Dismissing the Prince’s reply, Young told him he was leaving and going to the palace.

Surprised, the Prince asked, “What about that woman of yours? I told you she will die if you miss the timing.”

Young called out for the Suribang archer, Ji Hul. He told the young warrior, “He will give you the antidote. Take it and go straight to the High Doctor.”

The Prince chuckled derisively, “I will? Why?”

“Because if anything happens to the High Doctor, you’ll lose everything. Without her, you won’t be able to bargain with me or the Prince of the Court.” As the Prince began to look worried, Young sneered, “I told you. I see what kind of bastard you are. You don’t have the courage to give up your own life.” Turning to Ji Hul, he said, “If he doesn’t have the antidote… _kill him_.”

As Young left, the young archer came in, bending his bow with an arrow in it pointing at the Prince. Unnerved by Young’s countermove, the Prince took out a small pottery bottle from his sleeve, placed it on the table in front of him and then left the room. Ji Hul swept it up and immediately left. Once outside, he gave a whistle to alert Young, who was waiting a short distance away, to let him know that he had the antidote. Young's lips curved into a slight smile, relieved to know that his strategy had worked, then hurried to the palace.

At the palace, the remaining palace guards were under the control of Il-shin. They sought to take the King prisoner, holding him until Il-shin and Prince Hyung could decide what to do with him. The King's guards looked for a place where he could avoid being trapped. The Woodalchi broke into teams to prevent the King from being taken prisoner and to clear a path for him. One team of three Woodalchi, including Ju-seok, fought at least 15 royal soldiers. Young had often told them that each of them was worth 10 common soldiers, and that had often proven true. Regular soldiers, who received only basic training, were no match for the highly trained Woodalchi, but the King's bodyguards could be overrun by superior numbers. One of the Woodalchi reported back about the engagement and then returned to help Ju-seok. By then Ju-seok was fighting alone; the third Woodalchi had been killed. Other Woodalchi teams were meeting similar numbers of guards.

The Woodalchi decided to take the King to the royal library, which could be guarded better than the King’s quarters. But the King paused, asking about the Queen. No one knew, and to get the King moving, Choon-sik told him that they didn’t know how many were involved in the rebellion and that they only had 70 Woodalchi. Reluctantly he left, even as another Woodalchi ran to block more soldiers who were trying to stop them. Soon thereafter, Dae-man arrived and blew his whistle using a Woodalchi code, sending Young’s message to run away. By that time they had found their way blocked to the royal library anyway, and Choon-sik told the King they’d leave the palace altogether by the rear west entrance.

Reproaching him, the King said, “Are you saying to abandon the palace?! Abandoning the Queen and escaping alone?!” Choon-sik told him that it was the signal from the General, to run away, that the King could only counterattack if he stayed alive. Do-chi assured him that the maiden warriors were with Her Highness, and that Lady Choi had very likely moved her to a safer place. The King could see the Queen’s quarters from where he was, and he looked at it with deep concern. He hesitated for a moment more, then went with the Woodalchi through the garden and its zig-zag bridge to the rear west entrance.

The Queen, accompanied by her maiden warriors and led by Lady Choi, were hurrying alongside a wall and had almost reached an exit from the palace when their way forward was suddenly blocked by a sizable group of palace guards. The soldiers ran toward them to disable the Queen’s protectors. The maiden warriors and Lady Choi drew their own swords and engaged them, giving a good account of themselves, but they were heavily outnumbered and were soon about to be overrun.

Then, from behind the remaining soldiers, they saw a figure running toward them. With almost a dancer’s fluid motion, the man leaped up high and pushed against the wall sideways with one leg, giving himself leverage, and came down on soldiers in the rear, swinging his sword in a wide arc and cutting through the surprised men. It was Young, who then whirled and repeated the maneuver, dancing destruction as he cut down soldiers almost before they registered what had happened to their fellows. He swung his sword as he whirled around again and then took down the last remaining soldiers with quick slashes and sword thrusts. The Queen could barely watch, unused to seeing such violence, but Lady Choi looked on her nephew with pride. He approached the Queen and Lady Choi, breathing heavily and hair disheveled. He told them, “I’ll lead the way.” The Queen asked about the King, but he replied, “I could not find him inside the palace. He must have already gone out.” They suddenly heard footsteps and saw that yet more royal guards had arrived. Young bowed his head briefly to the Queen, saying, “Please excuse me,” then took her firmly by the wrist and walked toward the soldiers, keeping her behind him. He waded right into them, slashing and stabbing those in front, then dropped her wrist for a few moments so he could use both hands on his sword to continue cutting down the enemy. Those who were there saw an extraordinary display of powerful, lightning-fast swordsmanship, from the time Young first arrived until he finished clearing the way. None of them had ever seen anything like it. In all, he singlehandedly killed or disabled nearly 20 soldiers. When he was done, he turned a blood-spattered face to the women saying, “Follow me,” and led the Queen to safety, sidestepping the bodies on the ground.

Early the next morning, Il-shin received a report of the attack on Ki Chul’s mansion. He was aghast that Ki Chul had not been found and killed. He railed at the soldiers, asking how that could have happened when Ki Chul’s men were so outnumbered. Worse, the King and Queen had escaped the palace as well. He thought he had left a sufficient number of palace guards to keep them in the palace. He approached the King’s advisors, who he had called to the palace the night before. They weren’t happy, feeling that he had kept them there all night long, almost as hostages. What did he think he was doing? And they wanted to know where the King was. After all, Il-shin had told them that the King had called them there for an emergency meeting. He replied, “Last night the men of our Royal Army attacked Prince of the Court’s house. I am waiting for that result right now.” Just then, one of the royal guards came to him and reported that the Prince of the Court’s men were attacking the palace at that moment. They were all stunned. Lee Saek asked, “What?! Where is our army?” The soldier informed them that their army hadn’t yet returned from the Prince of the Court’s house.

Il-shin cried, “That’s not possible. His men could not have come here! I said that must not happen. Prince Hyung said that wouldn’t happen…”

Just then a voice interrupted, asking, “Where is His Majesty?” Prince Hyung walked up to Il-shin, who was relieved to see the Prince, thinking he’d help explain the situation. Il-shin told him that the King wasn’t there. The Prince appeared to be outraged. “How could you do that? Why?” Il-shin was puzzled by the Prince’s response, not knowing what to say. The Prince turned to the other advisors and said, “The King’s advisor (Il-shin) came to find me and told me that the King wasn’t in his right mind in acting like that about the Seal.” He turned to Il-shin and asked, “You said that, right?”

Il-shin, confused, said, “I did?” Then, seeing the Prince nod slightly, said, “Ah, yes, I said that. But…”

The Prince interrupted him, “He intends to use a new Seal, and Yuan will use it as an excuse to invade us. Over this, the people will face misery from the war.’” Again Il-shin agreed that’s what he had said. The Prince went on, “You also said that we must attack Ki Chul, who is for Yuan, and dethrone the mad King.” Il-shin began to nod, and then caught himself, just beginning to realize something was not quite right. The Prince asked him, “Didn’t you say you wanted to make me King, saying that it was for the welfare of Goryeo?” Il-shin averred that everything he had said and done was for the welfare of Goryeo. But the Prince, looking outraged, told him, “You thought wrong! Starting an insurrection and killing each other within Goryeo? Is that for the sake of Goryeo?”

Il-shin saw that everyone was looking angrily at him and that, somehow, the Prince had become _their_ spokesperson. Wondering what had happened with his ally, he said, “But Prince Hyung, Your Highness?”

The Prince spoke to the other advisors as he began moving around behind Il-shin. “So I replied with this. Even if he is not a good King, you have to pay for that revolt against my nephew with your life. For committing a crime against our King!” As he said those last words, he pulled a sword out of the scabbard of one of the soldiers nearby. Sensing something wrong, Il-shin turned around just as Prince Hyung plunged the sword into him, stabbing him through and then pulling the sword out. Il-shin looked at him for a moment, betrayed and left speechless, slowing falling to the ground. The only look on the Prince’s face was one of righteous outrage. The other advisors looked shocked, but no one protested. The Prince’s action had been abrupt, but there was no doubt in their minds that Il-shin had betrayed the King. The Prince asked, “I have heard that Prince of the Court Ki Chul is now surrounding the palace. Do you have any plans?” They all looked down or at each other in consternation, giving no response. The Prince declared, “Then I will give him Il-shin's body and try to appease his anger.”

Seeing his opportunity, the Prince asked, “Are you sure that His Majesty is not in the palace?” One of the advisors answered that it was true, the King was not in the palace. The Prince sighed dramatically, then commented, “No matter how scared he is, if His Majesty first abandons his palace and runs away, what exactly is he going to do?” The Prince turned to look at the throne. He intended to be on that throne very soon.

That same morning at the Suribang house, Eun-soo woke up, temporarily relieved for the second time of the effects of the poison. She sat up in bed and found that she was able to move her fingers; the numbness had left them. She was alone in the room, but she heard men talking from somewhere nearby. They were saying, “Yes, we understand!”

She got out of bed and slowly walked down the hall. She looked through a window screen into a nearby room and saw Young talking with his men. He said, “He probably wasn’t able to get out of Gae Kyeong. His Majesty should be looking for us as well. Search every street thoroughly, and for any hint of a signal they may have left.”

They all responded with, “Yes, Sir! Yes, Sir!” She smiled to see him with his beloved Woodalchi. He appointed one man to be in charge of rallying all the Woodalchi together and collecting the reports of what they found. Then he asked Deok-man, who had been shot by an arrow in his upper back, if he was able to move. Deok-man said he was just a little sore, and Young slapped him on the head for getting shot. Then he told the Suribang to follow the statesmen when they came out of the palace. He wanted to find out their reactions to the attempted coup.

Hearing of Deok-man’s injury gave Eun-soo an idea. She went to her room and got the shoulder pack containing her medical supplies and surgical tools. She returned to the room where the Woodalchi were meeting and stood in the doorway. Young looked at her, surprised to see her up. She told him, “Sorry, please continue.”

He came over and said to her in a low voice, “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be lying down!”

She told him that lying down hurt her back. Teasing him, she added, “I’m not like someone who can sleep all day long.” She stepped past him and approached Deok-man, saying, “Let me take a look at those who have been injured. Deok-man, I’ll start with you.”

Young protested, “Hey!” But she told him to continue with his meeting; that she wouldn’t be disruptive. Young looked unhappy but, other than dragging her out of the room, there wasn’t much he could do. And Deok-man’s injury did need some medical care. Meanwhile, she went right on, asking Deok-man if he had just pulled the arrow out, peeling back the pad that had been applied on the wound, and telling him she’d need to suture it since it had been torn. The other Woodalchi moved around, making a makeshift table she could work on, and others waited their turn for treatment of various wounds. Young stood in the doorway, biting his lip while watching her thoroughly disrupt his meeting. Just then his pledged uncle pulled him aside to give him some news: just as Ki Chul had earlier threatened, his soldiers were besieging the court. Also, Prince Hyung had gone to the palace that morning to call the Royal Army back from Ki Chul’s home. Young thought that the two of them, the Prince and Ki Chul, must have started negotiating.

And indeed that was the case. Ki Chul came to the King’s chambers, which the Prince had appropriated for his own use. He said, “You must have been busy all night long.”

The Prince innocently asked, “What did I do?”

“So, the one who has mobilized the Royal Army and attacked my house was the King’s advisor, Il-shin?” The Prince told him that Il-shin had confessed. Suddenly revealing the depth of his anger and grief over the attack on his home, Ki Chul shouted, “My brother is dead!!”

The Prince responded, trying to sound sympathetic, “Oh, I was unaware.” Ki Chul added that his belongings had also disappeared. The Prince calmly replied that he had heard there had been some confiscations. Once they sorted everything out, he’d let Ki Chul know. Then he invited Ki Chul to have a seat at the meeting table, and the Prince went ahead and sat down.

But Ki Chul hadn't moved. He growled, “Aren’t you afraid of becoming my enemy?”

Looking surprised, the Prince asked, “Enemy? Isn’t this all we had discussed before? I will become the King. You can have the High Doctor.”

“Then, did you bring the High Doctor?”

Knowing that the High Doctor would need another dose of the antidote, he replied, “I will give her to you in three days. You can take my word for it. In return, you must make sure that the King doesn’t come back to court. That is my condition.” Ki Chul looked at him with a combination of outrage and grudging respect for how well the Prince had played his game so far.

At the Suribang house, Eun-soo had finished treating the injured Woodalchi, and they had dispersed to look for the King. She sat on her bed, taking her own pulse. As she did so, a dream image came into her mind again. It was the dream of finding Young’s lifeless body in a house. She gasped with the ache of seeing him like that, then looked up to see the real Young standing in the doorway to her room. He told her that the Queen had already moved and that he and Eun-soo would follow shortly. They would have to walk quite a distance; would she be able to do that? He thought they’d have to be careful not to be seen, so it would likely be a day and a night’s worth of walking. Instead of answering, she asked him to sit down next to her. There wasn’t any other place to sit near her except on the bed with her. He was a little uncomfortable. It was one thing to be physically close to her when she was unconscious or very ill. It was another thing entirely when she was fully awake and apparently well, stirring feelings in him that he had no time for at the moment. But when she repeated her request, he sat down near her. Remembering her dream, she asked him whether he had asked the Prince about a possible second part of the notebook. In all the chaos of the previous night, he had forgotten. He quickly stood up and told her he’d go there again to ask, but she stopped him, pulling on his arm to sit down again.

She said, “Now don’t get angry at the things I’m about to say. I think I’m going to have to meet Ki Chul again. Or maybe the one who is supposed to be the King’s uncle…”

His response was predictable, “Are you in your right mind?! He’s the one who poisoned you!”

“My journal…I need to see if that book has another part. If it does exist, then…I think it’s a letter I wrote to myself.”

“What are you talking about?”

She spoke earnestly, “I don’t know what I’m doing either, but it’s driving me crazy. I’ll only feel at ease if I see there’s no such thing.”

Knowing something was amiss, he looked at her intently and asked, “Do you have anything else you want to say to me? You have nightmares every night. For the last few days you’ve been waking up crying from your nightmares. So tell me what the dream is about.”

There was no way she could tell him about finding him dead. He had enough worries to deal with. She looked away, saying, “I don’t want to.”

He sighed in frustration, letting it go. He stood up and told her they’d be leaving after lunch and started to leave, but then sat back down on the bed. Knowing how persistent she was when she’d made up her mind, he asked, “Are you planning to go secretly if I don’t approve?” His face became stern as he added, “You will not take one step without my permission.”

She tried to allay his concern. “That Prince of the Court guy won’t hurt me.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then, let me meet Prince Hyung so I can get the antidote and…”

“Not possible.”

“There’s something called a movie in the heaven world. In it, there are all sorts of tricks. There’s one I want to try.” He looked at her skeptically, but she tugged on his sleeve, looking at him plaintively with a little cry.

He sighed, then told her, “This is what the order is going to be. First of all, we will gather all of forces left to us. In the midst of that we will find His Majesty. Meanwhile, I will find the rest of the antidote. Then, we have to gather the information so we can find out what Prince of the Court has. My plan is to take it from him one by one. The first thing we must do is take Ki Chul away from him.”

She didn’t argue, instead she formed a rectangle with her fingers, like a camera, looking at him through it. He looked askance at her, asking, “What are you doing?”

Her only response was, “Click!” She wanted a picture of him to last in her mind forever.

That same day, the Woodalchi Ju-seok walked through a market, pausing in a less busy space, and wrote a symbol with a piece of charcoal on a nearby wall. It looked like a tic-tac-toe board with a dot in the upper right square. It was a coded message to other Woodalchi, telling them where to find the King. Leaving a similar message in several places and surrounding villages, the Woodalchi told the King that they hoped to have contact with the others sometime that day. The King asked about the Queen and Choi Young. His men told him that Ki Chul’s soldiers were still searching everywhere, for the royal couple as well as for the High Doctor, so the Woodalchi as well as Choi Young would be better able to move about at night.

The King reflected, “It’s very strange. I’m the King of Goryeo, aren’t I? But even if I go out to the streets now and tell people, ‘I am your King,’ no one would believe me or recognize me. So, even if Ki Chul’s mercenaries tie me up or kill me, saying, ‘This guy is impersonating the King, so he deserves to be killed,’ who would recognize….that I am the real King?” The King paused for a few moments, then said to his attendant, “Do-chi, once out of the court, nothing proves who I am. I guess the King was not me, but the palace.” The King smiled at the irony of it, then wondered what he could do about that.

In the palace, Prince Hyung sat in the King’s study. Two men brought him a medium-size chest and told him, “Here, we brought what you ordered us to bring.” It was the chest of relics from Ki Chul’s house. Opening it, he first examined the rusted surgery instruments, then found the coveted notebook. It was actually in three pieces: the part still contained within the cover that had the coordinates for the portal to heaven, a later section that had previously fallen out of the old notebook, and last, the back page with Eun-soo’s signature, now sitting by itself in the bottom of the chest. One time when Ki Chul had picked up the notebook, the second part fell out, back into the chest. Ki Chul had noticed it but hadn’t been concerned; there was plenty of information to be deciphered just in the first part. He could always come back for the rest at a later time. Now, Prince Hyung briefly examined the first two parts. The second part was written in modern Hangul and began, _“I hope this reaches you in time…An earnest heart ties us together, and only memory makes that moment happen.”_ But unable to read any of it, he shortly returned the items to the chest and then left for a meeting with the court advisors.

Prince Hyung walked through the gathered advisors to the front of the throne room and turned to speak to them. “I heard that you were waiting for me.” But Elder Ikjae corrected him, saying that who they were waiting for was the King. Now that Ki Chul had pulled his troops back, they wondered why the King hadn’t returned. They looked at the Prince with suspicion; perhaps he had something to do with why the King hadn’t returned. The Prince told them, “I’m not sure. I guess that the young King was very shocked by this incident. His loyal servant who had been with him for 10 years rebelled, and he was threatened with death. Obviously he’s afraid to come back.”

Then, as he and the Prince had secretly agreed, Ki Chul came into the room, saying, “Here, let me present the Royal Order from the King.” Yang-sa presented the red scroll to the Prince while Ki Chul proclaimed, “I’m on my way back from meeting the King, who is staying somewhere safe right now. He apologized to me for the attack by the Royal Army. And he asked me to give this Royal Order to Prince Hyung.” The Prince smiled, ever so pleased to be given the forged document, stamped with the Royal Seal. Ki Chul smiled back at him. The Prince, after reading the document, told the advisors that the King was asking him to rule the country in the meantime. The advisors looked shocked; most of them knew the King wouldn’t be likely to do that, but the King wasn’t there to dispute it, and there was the scroll in the Prince’s hands with the King’s Seal on it. The Prince passed the scroll to the advisors so they could see it. Elder Ikjae raised the issue that the King had said he wouldn’t use that seal, but Ki Chul answered that perhaps the King had changed his mind after experiencing the rebellion. He further emphasized that the document bore the Royal Seal that only His Majesty would have in his possession. Again, the advisors suspected a forgery but had no proof of it.

Moving quickly toward his goal, the Prince stated that, following the order of His Majesty, he would take the position for a time. Shocking the advisors, he boldly stepped up on the dais, walked to the throne and sat down on it, saying, “Am I allowed to sit on this throne as the King’s representative?” Elder Ikjae began to protest, but the Prince held up his hand, interrupting him and saying, “First, Prince of the Court had a huge loss from this incident. So we must compensate those losses.” Looking to immediately reward Ki Chul for essentially putting him on the throne, the Prince asked him, “What do you want?” While speaking, the Prince put his hand on the armrest of the throne, beginning to make himself comfortable there.

The King, meanwhile, continued to stay hidden in a house with Woodalchi guarding him. Dol-bae looked out a screened window only to see Eum-ja and Hwa Su-in in a nearby street. They had been walking the streets for hours, looking for any sign of the King or Woodalchi and using Eum-ja’s extraordinary hearing to listen for suspicious conversations coming from the houses they passed. Dol-bae quickly turned to the others and signaled them to be quiet. A little before that, Dae-man had seen Ju-seok’s coded message and went toward the house where the King was staying. Spotting Ki Chul’s minions, he took a noisemaker from a nearby vendor and began beating on it, interrupting Eum-ja’s concentration. He continued distracting and annoying him until Eum-ja lost patience and chased after Dae-man. Hwa Su-in briefly stayed where she was, looking around for a few moments before following Eum-ja.

Once Ki Chul’s minions had left, Young came to the door. His men cried, “General!” and bowed their heads to him as he entered.

He walked right up to the surprised King and said, “I’m here to escort you,” and then bowed to the King. “In Hyeongo [a village close to Gye Kyeong], I prepared a temporary lodging. The Queen Her Highness is already there.” The King asked after the Queen’s welfare, and with a smile, Young told him that he had heard she was even happier there because she didn’t have to wear a heavy hairpiece. Relieved, the King was ready to go. He’d be escorted by both Woodalchi and Suribang, some of whom would be close to the King, and others that would be at a distance, scanning for danger. 

The King asked Young about himself. He replied, “I will follow you soon after finishing up a few matters in Gae Kyeong. I won’t let you stay away from the palace too long, so please be patient.”

The King told him they didn’t need to hurry to return to court, adding, “If I were in the palace, I wouldn’t be able to see you, since you’re now a criminal.”

Looking a bit abashed, Young replied, “I heard all this happened because of the Seal. I put you in a difficult position.”

“It was beyond just being in a difficult position. I’ve been driven out of the court.”

Young bowed his head again, saying sincerely, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Having chastised Young but understanding that the General had played a major role in saving him, the King asked, “How is the High Doctor? Is she alright?” Young looked up again and his whole face brightened, telling the King she’d be fine.


	32. Episode 16, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young and Eun-soo solicit Ki Chul's help and confront the King's uncle. The King decides to stay in the village for the time being and hold court there. Eun-soo reads a section of the notebook and comes to understand its urgent warning.

**Gye Kyeong and Hyeongo Village**

Choi Young secretly returned to the Royal Medical Office to talk with Dr. Jang. The doctor told him they had determined what poison had been used on the High Doctor and showed him a small container of it that they had distilled from some of the poisoned paper. It was called Muho poison and the speed of the seizure was determined by the dosage. But they had not yet been able to craft an antidote on their own; they needed some rare ingredients, and they didn’t just need time to craft an antidote, they’d have to test it for effectiveness as well. Young sighed in frustration and took the container to examine it, but the doctor told him to be very careful; it had no color or scent. He asked if someone could be poisoned just by smelling it, but the doctor said, no, someone had to swallow it. He thought the poison was activated by stomach acid. Knowing he would still have to get the antidote from the Prince, Young left to escort Eun-soo to other quarters. But before leaving, he tucked the small vial of poison into his jacket.

That night, Eun-soo and Young walked toward Hyeongo village, accompanied by Deok-man and Dae-man, who served as lookouts. Eun-soo was still working to persuade Young to let her talk to Ki Chul. “Please trust me for once. I can handle it.”

Ignoring her request, he only said, “If we keep going a little more, you’ll be able to meet His Majesty’s party.” She asked him about what he’d be doing, and he replied, “I need to find the antidote and also have lots of things to do.”

Irritated by having her proposal ignored, she told him, “That’s also your personality right? You can’t trust anyone, so you must do everything on your own.” He told her that she wasn’t even well but still wanted to do something dangerous. But she retorted, “So what? I’m not well, but it’s _my_ body, and this is about finding _my_ antidote which _I_ need. Why should _you_ always find it for me?”

He shook his head, saying, “That’s because you were poisoned because of me…”

She put her hand on his arm, yanking him to a stop, and said, “No, it isn’t. The person they want is me, not you. So it’s not all because of you.”

Impatient, he asked, “So what? So what are you wanting to do?”

“I want to help. So don’t stop me or dissuade me all the time and try listening to me.” Wanting more privacy, Young told the two Woodalchi to go far forward, so they moved ahead of the bickering couple.

She continued, “So what I’m saying is…” and then stopped, putting her head to her forehead and suddenly feeling ill. She sank down to squat on the ground, her head bent over her knees. He quickly knelt down to her, put his hand on her shoulder and asked what was wrong. Was she feeling unwell? Looking at her hands, she said she was ok, and went on to say that on the first day after taking the antidote, she felt fine, but during the second day, she began to feel continuously dizzy. And the third day, more dizzy. Seeing his worried look, she smiled to reassure him.

He chided her, “How can you smile? Do you smile even when you might die?”

She told him, “Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

She told him softly, “Always getting mad at me. If you do that and I leave, what will you do when you no longer have anyone to get mad at? You’ll feel too lonesome if it becomes a habit.” Unsure how to respond and reminded that their time together was growing short, he gazed at her for a moment. Then he stood up and looked around for a place to sit. He helped her up and said, “Let’s take a little break.” He found a bamboo mat and spread it on a stone next to a tree. They both sat down with a little distance between them. But when she told him it was a bit chilly, he turned to her, slowly moved closer and put his arm around her. But then he faced forward, as though he hadn’t done anything.

She looked up at her stoic General and smiled, knowing he felt more than he could easily show, and put her head on his shoulder. She told him, “Anyway, you’re hopelessly macho.”

He bent his head to her, saying, “What?”

“If you go to heaven with that personality, you’ll probably grow old alone.”

He announced, “I won’t go there.”

Still pressing him, she asked, “Then what about going to Ki Chul’s house?”

Still not looking at her, he replied, “Be quiet.”

“Do you know what?” He told her he didn’t want to know, but she told him anyway, “Now you’re answering when I ask something. You used to ignore half of what I said.”

Unwilling to admit how much influence she had with him, he said, “You were quite talkative, and used a lot of Heaven words I couldn’t understand.” She smiled at him and rested her head again on his shoulder.

She told him softly, “I haven’t done this very many times before.”

“Done what?”

“Leaning on you like this…I’m getting used to it. It feels nice,” and she sighed contentedly. Then she added, “If I fall asleep here, then carry me.”

A little sadly he replied, “I can’t. I must carry my sword. I’m sorry.” He meant that he had to be a warrior, especially during the current crisis. She only nestled closer to him and closed her eyes. For his part, he held her closer and leaned his head over until it touched hers.

Eun-soo finally had her way, though. Young accompanied her to Ki Chul’s mansion. Ki Chul was stunned when he entered the room and saw her sitting there with the General standing by her side. Overjoyed to see her, he cried, “High Doctor! Do you know how much I looked for you? I searched the whole country. And now you’re here!”

Still pale from her ordeal, she replied, “I would like to make a ‘deal.’ I know when the Heavenly gate opens."

Ki Chul gasped in surprise, saying, “You deciphered it?” He was all ears. She asked him if he wanted to go with her to Heaven. Of course he did; smiling broadly, he could hardly contain himself. He asked what he could do for her in return.

“First, my journal. I think I read only the first part of that book. Does it have another part too?”

He eagerly replied, “Yes, it has.” She asked if she could see it. But he told her it had been taken away in the attack on his house, and he thought Prince Hyung had it. He asked, “Do you need it?” She nodded, telling him that she thought the first part was when to go and the last part was about how to go. He replied, “I understand, I will take it back.”

Then she asked him, “What about the third relic?” He told her it was something he couldn’t explain in words and affirmed that it, too, had been taken from him. He told her he’d get that back as well.

Suddenly suspicious about why the High Doctor was offering to take him to heaven so freely, he asked her why she had come to him. She looked up at Young, who told Ki Chul, “High Doctor’s life is at risk now.” Ki Chul’s eyes widened in alarm as Young continued, “I have to save this person. I had no choice but to come here.” Just then, Eun-soo noticed that her hands had gone numb again and gasped in dismay. Young immediately knelt down beside her and took one of her hands in his, asking, ‘Is the paralysis coming back again?” Shocked, Ki Chul understood she was in serious trouble but didn’t know what to do. They shortly told him how he could help.

Meanwhile, a group of Woodalchi escorted the King to Hyeongo, the village outside Gye Kyeong where the Queen had been taken. He entered a house with a small interior court open to the sky. There was a large circular table in the center, and rooms were situated around the courtyard. Lady Choi came there carrying a basket of flowers and spied the King. She quickly walked to him and bowed, saying, “Your Majesty, at last you’re here.” He acknowledged that she had gone through a lot, and then asked where the Queen was, very eager to assure himself that she was all right. She motioned to a room at the top of several steps leading up from the courtyard, telling him that the Queen was doing well, although the food and clothes were rough there. Looking into the room, he could see the Queen, her hair crowned with a wreath of flowers and a carefree smile on her face as she talked with two of her attendants.

He stood still gazing at her, saying softly, “So this is how it feels.” When Lady Choi inquired what he meant, he said, “I mean, the only world that a husband can see.” Just then the Queen saw him and stood, greeting him very warmly. He came into the room and asked her what she was doing, but she said that she was only waiting for him. Noting how happy she seemed to be to see him, he teased that he needed to make her wait more often.

The King then called to Choon-sik and asked how many Woodalchi were there. The Assistant General told him about 50 Woodalchi. The King said, “I heard that 50 Woodalchi soldiers can match 500 of the Royal Army soldiers. Is that right?” Choon-sik agreed that it was so, more or less. Making a decision, the King told his attendant, Do-chi, that from then on, he would work on national affairs there. In answer to Do-chi’s shocked look, the King continued, “Spread the news that the King is ruling from here for a while. Everyone is allowed to come and speak with me.” Do-chi protested that there were still a lot of people who wanted to harm His Majesty, but the King replied, “Don’t you understand? If I’m hiding here, they will be able to attack me. But if I reveal myself to the world, then they can’t dare to attack me. After all, I’m the King of Goryeo.” The King also had another purpose for dwelling there and inviting people to come. He would finally begin meeting his people.

Then he turned to more pleasant matters, asking the Queen to give him a tour of the house. She told him that their quarters were at the back of the house, and did he want to go there? He nodded; he did indeed want to go to their quarters with her. She demurely looked down and led him away. Once they had left, Lady Choi asked the Vice General about Young and the High Doctor. He told her they had stayed behind, but they should be fine since they were together.

A little later that day, Prince Hyung was taken by surprise when told he not only had visitors but who those visitors were. He dared not refuse, and into the room came Ki Chul, Young and the High Doctor. The Prince greeted Ki Chul and the High Doctor, but only noted the presence of, “the fugitive criminal Choi Young.” Eun-soo immediately stalked toward the Prince, accusing him of poisoning her, but Young took her by the arm, pulled her to the back of the room and sat her in a chair. Eun-soo kept shouting at him, however, noting his sly smile and calling him an attempted murderer. 

Knowing that Ki Chul would have more influence with the Prince, Young addressed him, “Prince of the Court, are you going to handle this?”

An angry Ki Chul said to the Prince, “I have to confirm something. My High Doctor…did you give her poison?”

Not at all chastened, the Prince responded, “What did I say? Didn’t she come to look for me personally in exactly three days? So why are you upset?”

An angry Ki Chul took a step toward the Prince, but several palace soldiers blocked his way, so with gritted teeth, Ki Chul said, “Let’s settle this nicely. Give me the High Doctor’s antidote, and the chest you took from me.”

The Prince only chuckled. Noting Young’s angry glare, he told Ki Chul, “If I hand over all my cards…he could even kill me here.” Ki Chul dismissed that concern, saying that Young wouldn’t kill a member of the Royal family.

But Young had enough talking. He handed his sword to Eun-soo, asking her to keep it for a bit, then turned and hit the first soldier, knocking him down, and quickly fought his way through the others, coming for the alarmed Prince. Other soldiers came at Young from behind, but Ki Chul dealt with them, shouting at the Prince that things had become too much of a mess because of him, and told Young to continue.

By that time Young had come up to the Prince and asked him, “You used Muho poison on the Doctor, didn’t you?”

The Prince didn’t give in, saying, “This is the King’s office. You crazy bastard…” But Young grabbed him by the neck and forced him down onto the desk behind him. While holding the Prince down, he took out the small vial of Muho poison that Dr. Jang had given him. He bit off the small cloth covering its opening and spit it out, then told the Prince, “I couldn’t get the antidote, but I have the same poison.” Holding him by the jaw and squeezing his mouth open, Young poured the contents into his mouth. Then he pulled the Prince to a standing position and kicked him from behind, collapsing his knees onto the floor. As the Prince choked and coughed, Young told him once again to give him the antidote.

Ki Chul had been simply observing the attack, but asked Young, “ Eh, did he eat too much of it?” The General replied that he didn’t know; he’d never used poison before.

By then the Prince had recovered enough to chide Ki Chul, “You cannot hold hands with this guy,” referring to Young. But Ki Chul only smiled, telling him he was in a hurry and that he should just take the antidote and give some to the High Doctor, so they could finish this business. Understanding that he was beaten for the moment, the Prince asked the High Doctor to come with him to a nearby room.

Not trusting the Prince, Young reached down and pulled the Prince up by his shirtfront until he was on tiptoe, saying, “What?!” The Prince told him he had to bring her to where the antidote was and treat her himself, just the two of them. He asked Ki Chul to intervene to stop Choi Young. Instead of Ki Chul, though, Eun-soo got up and went to the two of them, putting her hand over Young’s, telling him that she’d come right back. Reluctantly he let the Prince go, and Eun-soo helped hold the Prince up as they went to another room, leaving Young and Ki Chul alone. Young was so concerned for Eun-soo that he started to follow them, but Ki Chul urged him to stay put, telling him that the Prince was unlikely to hand over the antidote if he was there. Young very reluctantly stayed where he was, waiting anxiously for her to return.

In a nearby room, the Prince and Eun-soo sat down across from each other, the Prince still coughing a bit. She asked him to give her the antidote. He looked at her skeptically, “A heavenly doctor that can’t cure a poisoning? I thought you wouldn’t be harmed, so I never intended to kill you. But I knew it when your lover came, scared out of his mind: you are a fake.”

Very irritated, she said, “So are you just going to keep talking and die like that?” But he wanted to know if they were two of a kind, the type who doesn’t have anything but can seduce others and survive. Irritated even more, she cried, “You’re going to die sooner or later. You have to have the antidote, why do you keep talking? Does everyone here consider life and death a joke?!”

At last the Prince reached deep into his sleeve and pulled out a small white packet, telling her that it was the antidote. Looking at it, she said it was different from what she’d been eating. But he told her that what she’d been eating was fake. The poison naturally cycled through every three days before it finally killed its victim. What he held in his hand was the real antidote. She reached for it, but he grabbed her wrist. He spoke with real earnestness, “Prince of the Court believes in the Heaven’s door. If you and I join together…we can rule over him and Goryeo. You are called the High Doctor. Won’t you be on the same side as me? How about it?”

She only yanked her arm away and asked him about her diary. Did he have the rest of it? When he said he did, she told him to give it to her, that that had to be first. Chuckling, he agreed and held out the antidote to her. She took it and said, “One more thing. That person, Choi Young… don’t touch him. It’s over if you do.”

Eun-soo took the antidote and returned to Young, telling him that she was cured. She could already feel it starting to work. He smiled and gave a sigh of relief, looking at her tenderly. She took him by the arm and they left the palace together. Ki Chul stayed behind to talk with the Prince, who told him, “Did you say you wanted the High Doctor? Then…”

Ki Chul finished the sentence for him, “With that guy around…it will be difficult.” They needed to get rid of Choi Young.

A few days later the scholar and royal advisor Lee Saek went to Hyeongo village to follow up on a rumor. He passed by the Suribang leaders who had opened a small outdoor eatery nearby. They were telling their customers, “This is the most delicious rice soup in all of Goryeo! Have some for only two nyang! It’s especially tasty today!” The scholar didn’t know that they had opened the eatery at Young's request to help them keep a close eye on the King. 

As he continued walking, he saw a fellow leaving a house, laughing uproariously. The man came toward him, still chuckling, and Lee Saek asked him what was happening in there. The man told him, “So you haven’t heard about the rumor of the King yet?” At the scholar’s puzzled look, he added, “In there…is a King who will listen to what you have to say. He listens to everyone, even to those that curse the King.” Lee Saek wondered aloud if that was the King, but the man told him, “Ay, how could it be the real King? It’s like you just go there and vent your anger. He doesn’t take money either. People like going there because it’s fun!” Still chuckling, the man went on his way. As the scholar debated with himself whether to go into the house, Dol-bae come up beside him and asked if they had met before. The scholar looked at him and did a double-take, realizing he was one of the Woodalchi that often accompanied the King.

Dol-bae showed the scholar into the house. There, a couple with a small child, a lovely little girl who promised to be a beauty in a few years, were sitting across from the King and Queen. Other people sat around the courtyard watching and commenting on the discussion. The mother was describing their concern that their daughter would be one of the girls taken in tribute to Yuan because she was pretty. But the King couldn’t tell them yet that he intended to stop that form of tribute, so they weren’t happy that he gave them no firm solution. Instead, he drew a picture of the girl and gave it to her. The scholar smiled as he saw the King talking kindly with his subjects.

After the antidote ruckus with the Prince, Eun-soo had decided to return to her quarters at the Royal Medical Office rather than join the King and Queen. Confused by her decision, Dae-man asked Young if they had had a fight. Young told him to shut up, remembering that he had argued against her return to the palace, but she had been firm, telling him she was doing “Operation Mata Hari," using her beauty to gather information about the enemy. He sighed as he told Dae-man, “She does not think at all [about the risk]. I really don’t understand her.” He couldn’t bring himself to say what was in his heart, that she also seemed not to think of him, how worried he became when she made those kinds of decisions, not to mention how it tore at his heart to think of her returning to her world.

A few days later Young received word that Teacher Ikjae, Lee Saek and other advisors to the King wanted to meet with him. He met with them at Teacher Ikjae’s home, the same place where they had originally agreed to serve the King. As he sat down he asked, “Are you all right being in the same place as a wanted criminal?” Teacher Ikjae replied that they all knew he had been falsely charged. And they had heard that he and the other Woodalchi were responsible for escorting the royal couple to safety during Il-shin’s rebellion. He added that they knew where the King was and what he was doing.

Young only replied, “Is that so?” He mistrusted these men. If they knew the charge was false, why had they pressed for a trial?

But Teacher Ikjae went on to say that the King had evidently made a new palace in the nearby village. What’s more, the advisors had gone ahead and made him a new Seal, not given from Yuan but from the people of Goryeo. They wanted to bring the new Seal to the King. At that Young smiled wryly and admitted, “He’ll be happy. Well then…” He began to get up to leave, but Lee Saek told him not to go yet. Young told them, “As you can see, I am not a Woodalchi anymore. I’m supposed to avoid nobles. I don’t think you should talk to me about state affairs. So…” and he began to get up to leave once again.

Lee Saek quickly said, “If certain people find out that we made a new Royal Seal and are giving it to the King, we’ll be in great danger.”

Elder Ikjae added, “Escort us until we give the Royal Seal to the King.” Young sighed in exasperation, looked down and rubbed his forehead, finding it hard to believe they’d ask this of him after what they’d done. Seeing his recalcitrance, the Elder reminded him, “Isn’t he the King that you personally chose? That person needs to have the Royal Seal.” Young finally looked up as the Elder told him, “We’re thinking of moving early tomorrow morning. Will you help us?” Young knew the elder was right, the King really did need that new Seal. He reluctantly agreed to help them.

That night Young met with the two young Suribang warriors. He asked them to prepare a carriage to pick up four advisors at dawn the next day. Then he told Dae-man to go to Hyeongo village and ask the Assistant General to send 12 Woodalchi to a nearby bridge to meet the advisors. Young, by himself, would meet the advisors at their previous meeting place to escort them to the bridge.

Eun-soo’s decision to return to the Medical Office seemed to be paying off. She told Dr. Jang that the Prince had agreed to send her the pages from her diary. But the royal doctor was concerned that she was dealing with a very dangerous fellow, someone that used poison. She agreed that he was a terrible person. But just then an attendant to the Prince arrived, carrying a box, and told her, “He said it is half of it.” She felt disappointed, but at least it was a beginning. Once the man left, she eagerly opened the box, took out the pages, and sat down to read them by candlelight with Dr. Jang. The Hangul writing was difficult to make out, as the ink was faded and blurred. It seemed to be in her handwriting, but she had no memory of writing it. Once again the impossible was sitting right there in front of her. Desperate to learn more, she read, “ _Eun Soo, I earnestly hope that this message will reach you when you’re with that person, and that it’s not too late…”_ When she finished reading the pages, they sent her into a fit of frustration and anxiety. The message seemed cryptic. If she wrote it, why didn’t she understand more of it? Why were the pages so old and falling apart but written in modern Hangul? And the writing kept referring to “ _that person_ ,” clearly someone the writer thought was dear to her heart.

As the evening wore on, she continued talking to Dr. Jang while they drank wine. Unknown to either of them, Young had been passing by, but hearing her speak, he stopped to listen. She said, “I should say this before I become drunk, but for me…there isn’t a ‘that person’, really. Even though I met many men and tried to like them, my heart never opened. Even if my heart started opening up, it would stop…and stop…and then my heart would close again and hide.” She shook her head. “It’s annoying. It was always like that. ‘That person isn’t it.’ ‘This isn’t it.’ Even when I met Choi Young, it was like that. I drew the line so he wouldn’t come into my heart. ‘Don’t come in. Don’t come in…’"

Initially startled to hear his name, Young thought he should leave, but before he could do so, she continued, "Not because I’d leave sooner or later; my heart just wouldn’t open. Although now when I’m with him, sometimes… I feel so close to him and miss him so much that I can’t take it. I had those feelings, but he just couldn't be ‘this person.’" She sighed and paused. Those words cut him, to hear that she wouldn't let him into her heart; she'd been in his heart for some time now. To avoid hearing any more, he quietly left. But after he'd gone, Eun-soo added, "However, whenever I turn around, he is there, looking at me. Even if I can’t see him, if I ask, ‘Where are you?’ He says, ‘I am here.’”

A few tears began rolling down her cheeks, but she wiped them away, saying, “I must be drunk.” Then she addressed the writer of the message, “I don’t know who you are or why you are calling my name and writing this, and I’m not sure who ‘this person’ you are talking about is.” She knew her mind was fuzzy and going around in circles, and she finally told Dr. Jang that she needed to sleep and went to her room. Dr. Jang, being a good friend, put the pages away and blew out the candle. He thought that perhaps things would become clearer to her in the morning.

Early the next morning, the message started to make more sense even while she was still sleeping. The words began hooking up to her memories. Part of the message said,

_“That day…you would have gone somewhere far away, but that night, someone will look for you. That person will ask a favor of you; don’t refuse her request. Please, I beg you. You have to return for that person to live.”_

Her eyes suddenly opened, and she sat straight up in bed. She remembered that she had been traveling toward Heaven’s portal when Lady Choi found her. Lady Choi had urged her to return in order to stop Young’s fight with Ki Chul and save his life. The message fit perfectly with that event. Becoming completely alert, she got out of bed and went into the herbal house, because the message also told her about another event. It said, “ _And in another morning, that child will break a medicine jar…_ ” And there was Deo-ki right in front of her, cleaning up a mess on the floor from a broken jar. The message continued, “ _And…what else happened that day? Yes, you’ll see many chrysanthemum flowers behind the window frame, I remember that._ ” And there they were, just outside a window, a huge bunch of yellow mums in bloom. It also told her, “ _Don’t let him go that day. There is a trap waiting for that person. So, Eun Soo, please hold onto him._ ”

She realized she knew very well who that special person was; he had been steadily cutting away the barrier to her heart with his honesty, courage and faithfulness, his eyes often speaking of his care for her. The only person she had fooled was herself. She ran back to her quarters and picked up the pages, her heart beating wildly, frantically asking herself what she could do to save Young.

Elsewhere, Young was heading toward his meeting with the scholars, feeling uneasy and wondering if he was being followed.


	33. Episode 17, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Hyung sets a trap for Choi Young, and the Doctor accepts an offer from the Prince in order to save him.

**Gae Kyeong and Hyeongo Village**

Reading the pages from her diary and seeing the clues the writer had left, Eun-soo knew Choi Young must be in danger. That danger had to be coming from the Prince or Ki Chul, or both. There was no time to waste. She threw a robe on over her pajamas, slipped her feet into shoes, and ran out the door to the palace. Arriving at the Prince’s quarters, she told the guard, “Go and relate to that Prince Hyung His Highness of yours, that the High Doctor from Heaven wants to see him, right this very moment!”

She was shortly shown into the Prince’s study area, where he sat at his desk. He rose to his feet and came around to the front of the desk just as Eun-soo came running in, tripping as she tried to go up the steps to the desk area. He reached down and grasped her arms to help her up, but she shook him off. In response to his asking her what was so urgent, she cried, “Are you intending to kill Choi Young today?” When he didn’t immediately reply, she continued, “Is it true? You really plan to?”

Surprised, he replied, “How did you know?”

She frantically grabbed him by the lapels of his robe, crying, “I told you not to touch him! You agreed!”

Looking at her imperiously, he removed her hands from his robe and held her by the wrists as he told her, “I kept my promise. He’s a fugitive and he came into the palace and tried to poison me, the King’s representative. You asked me to let a person like that out of the palace without so much as a hair harmed. So I did that for you, didn’t I?”

Pulling her wrists from his grasp she shouted, “What trap did you plan? Where is it?”

Again he was surprised, “You know it’s a trap?”

“I said, where is it?! Where do you plan to kill him?!”

“How did you know that he’s walking into a trap? The one who is fretting isn’t me, though, since that trap will soon be sprung.”

“My notebook, it was written in the last part.”

He laughed out loud; what she said was preposterous. He reasoned, “It couldn’t be that today’s trap is written in the few sheets left in that notebook. To say such a nonsensical thing…”

With tears in her eyes, she interrupted, “Save him. I’ll do anything.” She paused to wipe her sleeve across her nose, then continued, “I’ll do anything you want. So please!” He could hardly keep from grinning at her desperation.

That same morning, as Young was on his way to meet the scholars who were bringing a new seal to the King, he knew something wasn’t right. He paused now and then to listen and look around him. He was being followed on the rooftops; he could hear the sounds of more than one set of feet. But they stopped when he stopped, and he couldn’t see anyone on the roofs or on the ground. Uneasy but deciding to proceed, he came to the house where the scholars were waiting. From their hiding place on a nearby rooftop, archers watched him enter the house.

After entering, and with no greeting or preamble, Young asked the scholars, “Who else knows about this house and today’s trip?” They replied that, as far as they knew, no one else should be aware of what they were doing. He asked them if the royal seal was that important. They assured him that it had been made at the King’s orders.

He challenged them, “You can make it again at the King’s orders. Isn’t this something that can be produced again many times? I need to find out whether those guys outside came with the royal seal as their aim, or for some other reason.”

The scholars were shocked: what guys outside? But Lee Saek noticed that one of their number was missing, the owner of the house they were in. He was suddenly nowhere to be found. The scholar in question had quietly left the house as soon as Young arrived, and then numerous men stealthily approached the house’s doors and windows with long timbers. The timbers were flat on one side, perfect for nailing to a door or window to block it, since all the doors and windows of the house opened to the outside.

Just as those inside were noticing the house owner’s absence, they heard the thud of timbers against the doors, followed by the quick pounding of hammers. The men outside worked so quickly that by the time Young hurried over to a door and tried opening it, it was already nailed shut. Young circled around, trying every possible entrance and window, but they were all blocked. Worse, as he was stalking through the house, he noticed the faint smell of explosive powder, indicating there must be some of it stashed inside the house. He didn't dare use his lightning power with that powder around. He and the scholars were trapped inside.

The Prince and Eun-soo continued their conversation even as Young was walking toward the house where the scholars awaited him. The Prince told her, “I heard Choi Young is difficult to kill by the sword, so Ki Chul taught me that his weakness is obligation." Thinking of the scholars' request of Choi Young, he continued, "Even if petty folks betray him, as long as they bring him an obligation, he won’t deny them. So, I used that as his trap. Now my men are awaiting my orders.”

Eun-soo jumped up from where she was sitting and approached the Prince. “So you’re saying you’ll kill him?” Putting her hands on the desk where the Prince sat, she leaned over and tried to reason with him. “He’s no longer a general and he’s just trying to flee. He would never force his way unless he’s being attacked first. Why must you kill him?”

“Because he’s stopping me from having you.” Puzzled, she asked him what he meant. He replied, “I must have you, in order for me to have the Prince of the Court as well. Cords of explosive powder have been laid under where that person is. That will kill even the strongest warrior.”

Focused entirely on saving Young, Eun-soo asked the Prince, “What do I need to do for you?”

Looking up at her from his desk, the Prince calmly stated, “I want you to marry me.”

She could hardly believe her ears. “ _What?!_ ”

“If you marry me, you’ll soon become a queen.” He held up a sheet of paper that he’d been writing on. “This letter is a command to halt all operations. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Giving a sigh of resignation but with no other hesitation, she stood up and told him, “Is that it? I just need to marry you? Then, let’s do it.” The Prince chuckled and gave the note to an attendant. Soon after, a soldier galloped quickly toward the house where Young was trapped along with the scholars.

Just as the Prince had said, the house had been seeded with explosive powder and a few inconspicuous trails of it led from chests or other containers containing it to the outside. Once Young and the scholars were trapped inside, men poured larger trails of powder around the outer walls that met the trails going to the inside the house. They could easily light the powder from outside that in turn would ignite the powder inside, creating an explosion and fire that no one could survive. Young began pushing, shoving and kicking doors and windows to try to find a weak spot. As he did so, the men on the roof were preparing to set aflame cloths soaked in tar that had been wrapped around the ends of their arrows. They’d shoot them toward the trails of explosive powder that had just been laid along the outer walls of the house.

But suddenly the attackers heard a whistle from one of their men on the ground. The flaming arrows were quickly extinguished, and the men, both on the ground and on the nearby roofs, began to disappear. The Prince’s message had reached them. Shortly thereafter, Young finally found a door where the nails holding a timber over it had been pounded into a decaying wall. He broke through the door and quickly ushered the scholars out. He noticed the explosive powder ringing the house and stopped to finger a small bit of it to confirm what it was. He and the others had very narrowly escaped death. He wondered which of them had been the target. Most of all, he wondered why the attack had suddenly stopped.

With no further delay, he escorted the scholars to the King’s temporary dwelling, Lee Saek carrying the seal in a lacquered box wrapped in gold silk. They met a few Woodalchi who had been waiting along the way to provide additional protection. As they approached the King’s dwelling, Young saw several people coming and going from the house, then saw Choon-sik emerging as well.

Disturbed by seeing all those people apparently entering and leaving at will, he asked Choon-sik with his usual bluntness, “Does any dog or cow come and go here?” Choon-sik smiled and told him that it was His Majesty’s order, to keep the door open day and night. Young asked about possible spies and assassins, and Choon-sik told him they kept a careful watch on the King and Queen, sensing when someone might be a threat. Young was skeptical about how effective that would be, but he was no longer the leader of the Woodalchi.

Do-chi came out to greet the scholars, telling them that the King was waiting for them. Young, his task finished, told Elder Ikjae that he was leaving and bowed his head to the scholar. The Elder thanked him most sincerely for protecting them. Young, however, had not forgotten who had made him a fugitive. He simply looked at the scholar without smiling, inclined his head again, and left.

Upon entering, the scholars found the King and Queen sitting at the large round table in the center of the open-air court, the table covered with many scrolls and books. They were dressed relatively simply, and the Queen wore only a flower in her hair. There were a few people scattered around the courtyard as well, studying or waiting to see who the King’s next visitors would be. The scholars bowed and greeted the King, and he smiled and invited them to sit at the table. Elder Ikjae said he couldn’t dare sit at the same table as the King, but the King only remarked to the Queen, “See? Didn’t I say learned nobles would be very startled?”

The Queen addressed the scholars, “That is a seat that old and young, women and men of this neighborhood, and even slaves have used. So do not decline.” Lee Saek and Elder Ikjae sat at the table while a few others with them sat elsewhere in the courtyard. The King had Do-chi place several scrolls and sheets of paper in front of the scholars with various decrees. He started by telling them he was in the process of sorting out the slave roster made in the past decade. He wanted to free those that had been demoted to slave status. He suggested they look through the papers in front of them for additional decrees. The scholars were surprised, not expecting that he would be working hard. Elder Ikjae told the King that they had brought the national seal and the King said he had heard that.

The scholars unwrapped the package they had brought, revealing a six-sided red lacquered box with a scene of cranes inlaid in the top. They told him that the new seal had been produced by the statesmen following the King’s will. But the King disagreed. He told them that they had actually come to scope him out with the seal as their pretext, to find out if the King who left his palace was in his right mind or not. Was he so cowardly that he had delegated the throne to his uncle? The two scholars looked uncomfortable because that indeed had been part of their errand.

The King turned to the Queen and asked her, “What other reason could there be?”

She replied to him while looking directly at the two scholars, “Soon Ki Chul will send a petition to the Yuan emperor. So they must be wondering which king to support.”

The King added, “You must have been so afraid that someone would know your intention that you even asked the one you wanted to punish to escort you here.”

The Queen commented, “And that protector was kind enough to oblige.” The King agreed with her wholeheartedly. The two scholars looked very uncomfortable, as the King and Queen had pegged them very accurately.

Moving on, the King opened the box containing the seal and removed it. He looked at the bottom of it to read what it said, which simply stated that it was the “ _Goryeo Monarch’s Royal Seal_ ”. The King looked at the scholars, smiled and said, “Good. With this new royal seal I will write my first royal order, reinstating Choi Young, and the reason is as follows: He saved the Queen’s life during the revolt by Jo Il-shin, and he deserves great merit for safeguarding the King and the Royal escort. In light of this, I give my pardon and reinstate him.” The scholars wished the King had consulted with them first, but they didn’t protest. Choi Young had amply proved himself, even to their satisfaction. The King asked them, “Now, did you check on everything you wanted?” Do-chi, observing all this, couldn’t help smiling at all that had just transpired: the King’s perceptiveness about the scholars’ reason for coming, the King receiving a new seal more appropriate to his status as a head of state, and Young’s reinstatement. It was a good day for them all.

Still on pins and needles after her conversation with the Prince, and not trusting him to keep his word, Eun-soo had asked Dr. Jang to confirm whether Young was safe. He sent Deo-ki to the Suribang, and she returned with word that Young and the scholars were fine. Dr. Jang asked if she needed any more information, but she told him, “No, if he’s safe, that’s enough.”

The next day, Young met with his aunt, Lady Choi, outside the King’s temporary dwelling. He told her, “I don’t like it. Something strange is going on.”

She asked, “They were intending to lock you guys up and blast the explosive powder?”

“Yes, they were in the middle of it, but suddenly they all disappeared, leaving the powder alone. What’s going on? Could it be the Prince of the Court’s doing, using such a complex plan just to kill a few old men?” She speculated that it would have been Prince Hyung’s doing, but he wasn’t sure about that either, saying, “Just to get rid of that seal?”

“Or, he wanted to kill you, you brat. Those old men were just bait to get you there.”

“But why me? And what’s with the guard situation here? I’m really not liking it.”

She didn’t have an answer to his first question. But she told him that the King was going out into the streets. Together with the Queen, he often went out, accompanied by the Woodalchi and the maiden warriors. She worried constantly about their safety. She added, “Yesterday, they wanted to pick chestnuts and wandered around behind the mountain and back!”

He stood, ready to leave, but sighed and repeated, “Not liking it.”

She changed the subject, asking him where the High Doctor was. “I thought she’d come with you.” At those words, he took a few steps, in the direction of the palace in Gae Kyeong, changed his mind and took a few steps the other way, toward the King, and then paused again. She asked, “What’s with you?”

Turning to look at her, he gave her a rare look of confusion and shook his head as he replied, “Well…I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next.”

Lady Choi suggested that her nephew return to the King’s dwelling on the following day to speak with the King. He agreed, in large part because he was so concerned about the King’s safety. Once he arrived, he didn’t have to wait long for the King to emerge from his temporary dwelling. But before the King could even sit down, Young stood up and began, “You’ve come alone? What about your bodyguard?” The King told him he’d asked his guards to leave him alone. Then he asked Young to take a seat. But Young only looked perturbed and chided him, “Your Majesty can’t be protected in this manner. You let anyone come and go. And then you ask your bodyguards to leave you alone.”

Understanding that his blunt General had his safety at heart, the King said, almost playfully, “Then, shall I now return to the palace?”

“Not before we get Prince Hyung out. Two thousand palace soldiers are still in his grasp and what’s more, he uses poison. Do you know how difficult it is to safeguard someone from a person that uses poison?” The King just smiled at being scolded. An irritated Young asked, “Is this amusing?”

Still smiling, the King told him, “How is it that, whether as a Woodalchi or as a fugitive, whether as someone I trust or don’t, you never change?”

Young finally sat down with a sigh, saying he had the same thought. The King asked if Young still wanted to become a fisherman. Surprised by the King’s question, he thought for a moment and said wonderingly, “That…I have forgotten that for quite some time.”

The King told him, “I’ve used my new seal to pardon and reinstate you to your position. And I promoted you from 4B ranking to 4A. Now your ranking is Hogun [General of the Army].”

The stoic Young was not impressed by offices or ranking, so he only commented that the statesmen wouldn’t be pleased. But the King told him that he could dismiss him again or even send him into exile if he wished, because he was the King. Then, referring to Young’s earlier expressed wish to leave his service, the King told him he was sorry for giving him an official post again. But still, he wished Young would be with him. In Young’s mind, though, he’d never stopped serving the King.

While the King and Young were talking, the General’s attention had been momentarily diverted when he saw Deo-ki entering the King’s temporary quarters. He waited for Deo-ki to come out again, in case there was news about Eun-soo. And indeed there was important news. Once inside, Deo-ki handed a message to Lady Choi, who looked shocked and appalled as she read it. Then she gave it to the Queen.

The message read, “ _High Doctor accepts Prince Hyung’s marriage proposal_.”

The Queen looked at Lady Choi and Deo-ki, asking, “What is this saying? How could this…” and then she realized the impact this would have on a certain General. She asked, “Shouldn’t you let him know?”

Her mind reeling with the news, Lady Choi only said, “What?”

And the Queen repeated, “The General. He must know this.”

Deo-ki soon left to return to the palace. As she emerged from the royal couple’s temporary dwelling, she saw Young standing nearby. She nervously motioned to him that someone else would be coming out and then left. Then came Lady Choi, looking very disturbed. Young, who had almost never seen her look shaken, asked, “What is it?”

She tried to avoid him, saying, “What is what?”

But he knew something serious had happened and he stopped her, asking, “What’s going on? You’re hiding something from me.”

Knowing how much pain she was about to inflict, she told him, “High Doctor is getting married. Marrying Prince Hyung.” As she spoke his face softened and he looked away, briefly going inside himself. She continued, “I don’t know the details yet, but according to the letter from Dr. Jang, she has agreed.”

He recovered his composure, deciding it couldn’t be true. He looked at her and chuckled, “Don’t be joking.” But she told him Dr. Jang was very worried. He wasn’t sure what the High Doctor was thinking. Young asked, “You said she’s getting married? To the Prince?”

She told him softly, “That seems to be the case.”

His mind was working furiously, knowing he needed to find out what had happened, no matter what. He asked his aunt, “I’ve just been reinstated so I need to go through a process to leave. Do that for me.” She agreed to do it, but she warned him that his enemies were after him and it could be dangerous.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, would stop him, and he left for the palace.

In Eun-soo’s quarters at the Royal Medical Office, two attendants had arrived with new clothing, and they dressed her for a dinner date with the Prince. They piled much of her hair on her head and placed a golden tiara on top. Then they helped her into a new robe in a deep coral color with elaborate beading, and added a wide sash with purple embroidery. Finally they added a cream-colored robe trimmed in a lighter coral color. She looked regal, but she only felt smothered in finery, fussing with the long sleeves. As the ladies escorted her to the Prince, she glanced at a nearby alcove and in her mind’s eye saw Young casually leaning against a column. He turned to look at her and smiled, dropped his eyes a little shyly, and then looked at her again, his lips curving into a rare grin. Her spirits rose and then crashed as the image disappeared. A little further on, it happened again, although this time he was laughing and joking with his men. She drank in the sight of him and the sound of his laughter as if he was water in a desert. The vision soon changed, though, into a small group of royal soldiers that were on patrol. Her heart twisted with grief at these sweet images of Young, as she realized she was saying goodbye to him. She pulled herself together and walked on.

The attendants brought her to the throne room where Prince Hyung was waiting. He was like a teenager, excited by the prospect of becoming King. He asked if she’d like to sit on the throne. She shook her head. Undeterred, the Prince said jauntily, “From now on, I will show you respect as the one from heaven who is to become queen. So you treat me as someone who is to become your husband and the king as well.” She looked at him with an expressionless face as he went to the throne and sat down on it, making himself comfortable. He said, still grinning broadly, “Well, how do I look from there? Imagine me draped in the royal robe. Look carefully. So, tell me!”

She thought to herself that if he wanted her opinion, she’d give it to him. Aloud, she told him, “From what I see, you have a narcissistic personality disorder. Someone who craves success and would do anything to achieve it. People with this disorder lack empathy for others. Many patients suffering from it think of themselves as geniuses.”

The Prince laughed out loud at what he saw as her merely holding a grudge. Still enthusiastic, he rose from the throne and approached her, saying, “Well, how about this, then? Erase all moments prior to this moment. Let’s start anew as though we just met, you and me.”

She replied, “I can forget about you poisoning me, because I’m fine now. However, I can’t forgive you for trying to kill him. I will think of it every time I see you.”

Unfazed, the Prince told her, “It’s better to keep that type of feeling hidden, or it will work against you.” He smiled at her again and said, “Let’s go.” She reluctantly turned to follow him.

Young, having arrived back in Gae Kyeong, went to the Eun-soo’s apartment but she wasn’t there. Then he went to Dr. Jang. Walking into the doctor’s office he demanded, “Where is she? Tell me.”

Dr. Jang took Young’s arm, trying to calm him, and said in a low voice, “With Prince Hyung.” Young ripped his arm away from the doctor and started to go by him, but Dr. Jang, brave soul that he was, put a restraining hand out again, telling him, “Prince Hyung is being guarded by palace soldiers day and night. So let’s sit and talk first. Please sit.”

Recognizing that the doctor only wanted to help, Young looked down for a moment, closing his eyes to stop himself from exploding, then said, “I can’t do that.” In restrained fury Young told him, “I can't just sit.” Then he left.

Prince Hyung and Eun-soo were having dinner, or rather, Prince Hyung was having dinner. Eun-soo sat at the table with her meal untouched. As the Prince sipped wine from a cup, she asked him, “Were you always such a cheap ass?” The Prince didn’t know what a “cheap ass” was, but clearly it wasn’t a compliment. She went on, “An antidote that needed to be taken every three days for seven times total. I knew it then. And the rest of my notebook. You should just give all of it to me, but you go and save half of it?” Her voice had risen to a shout as she finished talking.

The Prince smiled, “So that’s why you’re so mad. The rest of the notebook.”

“Yes, that! When are you going to give me the rest of what’s mine?”

“Tell me the truth. What does it say?”

“It says that Prince Hyung could never become king.” He laughed in disbelief, but she continued, “So stop daydreaming and leave Goryeo.” Still laughing to himself, he asked her to tell him what the notebook really said. But she told him that she’d only be able to tell him when she had it in her hands.

He made a counter proposal. “How about this? I will give it to you on the night of our wedding.”

Just then, Young entered the room. Several guards ran forward to stop him, but he was in a fury, using his scabbard, legs and fists to fend them off but careful not to injure them badly. Both the Prince and Eun-soo stood up from the table. She started toward Young, but the Prince restrained her, telling her it was dangerous. She begged the Prince to tell his soldiers to stop; people were getting hurt. But by then Young had knocked out or disabled the soldiers in the room. He stalked up the steps and told the Prince, “Get your hands off her.” By that time, some of the soldiers were beginning to get up again and were about to attack Young from behind, but the Prince held his hand up, telling them to leave him be because of his rank as Commanding General. The Prince also dropped Eun-soo’s hand.

Young turned to her, saying, “Tell me. Did you agree to marry this person?” She admitted that was so. He followed up with, “Why?” 

She didn’t answer immediately, and the Prince angrily warned him, “How dare you come into the court and treat royalty like this?! Look at the eyes watching.”

But Young only had eyes for Eun-soo. He thrust his scabbard out sideways toward the Prince’s throat to prevent the Prince from moving, telling him, “Shut up. I am talking to her.”

Without moving, the Prince warned him again, “The moment you draw that sword, it is treason for you.”

Finally she spoke to Young, her eyes becoming moist as she pleaded with him, “Let’s talk later. I had a reason.”

But he knew why she had done it. “That so-called reason…was it to save me? I almost died in a trap three days ago. Did he ask you to marry him to save me?” His voice became gentler as he said, “Because otherwise, Imja…you would never do such a thing.” He turned to the Prince and asked, “Is that it?”

Defiant, the Prince asked, “What if it is?”

Young started to draw his sword, telling the Prince that he would never again be able to threaten her, but she threw herself in front of Young, grabbing for his hand to stop him and crying, “Don’t!” She pleaded again, “Please, don’t do that.” She didn’t want him to die a traitor’s death. Young continued to glare at the Prince with murderous intent but didn’t draw his sword. For his part, the Prince was unsure how long she could keep Choi Young from killing him in a rage, so he quickly left the room, taking his soldiers with him. He thought to himself that regardless of what the General wanted, the heavenly doctor would still be his bride.

Once the Prince had left, Young sighed, getting control of himself, then told her, “Let’s go.” But she stepped back from him. He pressed her, “Let’s go…together.”

Seeing her still hesitate, he took her by the wrist to leave, a determined look on his face. But she couldn’t go; she still wanted something from the Prince. She pulled against him pleading, “The wedding will take place in over a month anyway. And the gate to heaven will open before that, so I can leave and that’s the end. I have my own plan!” And with that she pulled loose from him.

Frowning, he told her “You call that a plan?!”

“Because there’s something I still need to do here!”

He shouted at her, “Tell me what it is so we can do it together!” He continued in a softer tone, “I know you’ve always wanted to leave here.” His voice began to rise as he acknowledged the pain she’d experienced. “From the very moment we met until now, Imja, you’ve been in danger and had sleepless nights. And I’ve made you cry. I know it’s my fault!” Then his voice softened again as he began to share his heart with her. “But still…I can’t leave you with him. Imja, there’s only a few days left before you will return. For those days…couldn’t you be with me?” Her eyes filled with tears, feeling deeply touched by his request. She yearned to say ‘yes’ but held back, only gazing at him. After a moment he asked in a quiet voice, “You won’t answer?”

She gently replied, “You know I come from heaven, right? So even if I talk strangely, you can believe me, right?”

“Tell me.”

“The latter part of the notebook I so wanted to see. In there, it was written that someone might lose his life in a trap. When I read that a few days ago, I was able to save you. Because that certain someone was you.”

Surprised and confused, he asked, “What do you mean? Why me?”

She interrupted him and with a loving smile said, “I’ve already told you. You are…very famous in heaven. But…what I saw was only half of that part of the notebook.” She grimaced as she thought of the Prince, “That rotten Prince Hyung…he won’t give me the rest of it. I’m worried something more about you is written there. So I need it.”

As they talked, Young knew she cared about him a great deal to have taken such a drastic step with the Prince. Nevertheless he was deeply skeptical of her plan. He asked, “So that’s why you will stay here?” She nodded. 

He stepped toward her as he confirmed, “To know when I’d be in danger?”

She nodded, “To save you from death.” Seeing his intense stare, she kept backing up as he approached her, unsure what he had in mind.

He asked, “So when will he give you that second half?” She told him it would be on their wedding night.

Shocked, he asked, “So you’re going to wait until that night?” She told him she’d somehow get it before then. He pressed, “How?” But she had run out of logic; she really had no idea how she’d do that. By that time her back was against a wall. He put his hand on the wall and leaned very close, his face just inches from hers, and said softly, “He poisoned you. And you dare to agree to marry him? To save me?”

But she retorted, “What should I do then? Should I just pretend I didn’t know? Put yourself in my position. If you knew I’m in danger, wouldn’t you come and…”

Suddenly he took her into his arms and pulled her to him. Holding her close, he sighed, “This hopeless person…what am I to do with you?” He hugged her even tighter, knowing that he’d be parted from her far too soon.


	34. Episode 17, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young returns to court as the Prince and Ki Chul's plot against the King progresses. The Doctor tries to break her engagement to the Prince.

**Gae Kyeong and Hyeongo Village**

After the Prince left Choi Young and Eun-soo to their conversation, he went to another room where he kept the chest of Hwata’s relics, the ones that had been taken from Ki Chul's home. He took out the remaining part of the notebook and fingered the pages. Then he held them one by one over a candle flame, burning them until they were ashes. He smirked as the pages went up in smoke. He thought it would serve her right to lose them, and anyway, it was just a trick she was playing.

Then the Prince continued with the plan he and Ki Chul had agreed upon. He sent his attendant to the King with a box containing a message that invited him to officiate at the wedding. The King told the attendant he’d send his answer later. Once the attendant left, the King asked Lady Choi to go to the High Doctor to see what she could do about stopping the wedding. Perhaps there were some rules or etiquette that hadn’t been done properly and could be used to negate the engagement.

The King also called for Young to discuss a return to the palace. He asked the General if he could return there. He particularly wanted to drag the Prince off of the throne, since he’d gotten there by trickery. And he was concerned that the court subjects would be thinking of him as a cowardly king who ran away. Young responded that they’d need to filter out those they didn’t want. Then there was the matter of the 2,000 Royal Guards that were supporting the Prince through payoffs coming from Ki Chul. Young told him that he would try to bring the palace guards back to the King.

Lastly, the King was concerned about the many mercenary soldiers that Ki Chul had, which could easily be used to threaten the throne. His General told the King he’d find a way. While the King trusted the Woodalchi, he questioned whether only 50 of them could take on all those soldiers. Young agreed, telling him, “We’ll have to find a way that won’t require us to fight against them.” The King nodded and then pushed a number of envelopes and sheets of paper toward Young, saying they were appointments to a few official positions, and that Young could use them in his work. Finally, the King said he’d heard about the High Doctor. He admitted that he was anxious that Young would take her and run away again. He just wanted Young to know that. Young didn’t answer him, preferring to keep all of his options open.

Meanwhile, the wedding preparations between the Prince and Eun-soo were moving ahead. The two attendants who had dressed her in royal robes for her date with the Prince were back. They told her they were there to escort her to her new quarters in the palace, where she would live from then on. Each woman took her by the elbow, one on either side, and began to hustle her out of the Royal Medical Office. She cried, “Hey, I’m fine here. Wait, wait!” But they were insistent, telling her they’d take care of moving her belongings. She reluctantly gave in and went with them, nodding goodbye to Dr. Jang as they passed him.

Sometime later, Eun-soo was sitting in her new quarters when Lady Choi came calling. Her first words to Prince Hyung’s fiancée were, “What on earth did you do?!”

The bride-to-be looked a little shamefaced as she replied, “I know…I want to ask myself that same question…” Lady Choi told her to take a seat so they could talk. She asked if the date had been set. Eun-soo told her that, whatever the date was, she had no intention of getting married. While it was true that she was engaged, she was only looking for the right time to break it off.

Lady Choi interrupted with, “This is an engagement with Prince Hyung, the only remaining royal family member except for His Majesty. Breaking it off? It’s out of the question!”

Eun-soo was stunned. “Can’t I?”

“Last night, was General Choi Young here?”

“Don’t even talk about it! He barged in and was in a rage. He said to come with him no matter what…”

“Come where?” Eun-soo started to tell her that they’d run away, but Lady Choi interrupted again with, “If he runs away with a fiancée of the royal family, he will get a death sentence and have his limbs cut away…” Eun-soo’s mouth hung open as she heard this news, shocked at what Young was willing to risk. Lady Choi continued, “I was sent by the Queen Her Highness, to make you come to your senses.”

Eun-soo tried to explain, “No, wait! I just agreed to marry him. It was just words. We didn’t have a ceremony or anything.”

But while she talked, Lady Choi began looking through things in Eun-soo’s quarters. First, she opened a box that contained a letter wrapped in silk cloths of two different colors. While still looking at it she told Eun-soo, “You’ve received the official marriage request letter.” Eun-soo said she hadn’t known what it was since she couldn’t read Chinese characters. Then Lady Choi spied the pile of gifts sitting in a corner and told her, “And you’ve already received the wedding presents.”

Eun-soo protested that they just brought them there without saying anything to her. She innocently inquired, “Should I return them?” Lady Choi gave a deep sigh and looked up to heaven for guidance with this naive woman who’d gotten herself in so much trouble. The High Doctor still didn’t understand the seriousness of her situation.

Eun-soo turned from the topic of her marriage to asking Lady Choi about her nephew. Had he always been so fearless, even as a child? She told Lady Choi that men were coming after him when he confronted the Prince and he didn’t even care. She commented, “If he ran away with me, he would’ve become a criminal committing high treason.” Lady Choi agreed. Both worried and irritated, Eun-soo stood up and cried, “Ah, what’s wrong with him?! He won’t listen to me, whether I ask him or I cry. He only says he’ll be careful!” She gave an exasperated sigh and practically stamped her feet in frustration and worry for him.

As she and Eun-soo talked, Lady Choi suddenly had an idea that would take advantage of her nephew’s daring, and later she went to Young and the King about it. It wasn’t a full solution, but it was a first step in returning the King to the palace. The result was that Young came to the palace with Do-chi, the King’s main attendant, as the Prince was holding court. They entered the throne room and Do-chi announced that he was presenting a Royal Order from His Majesty. The advisor Ja-won immediately objected, asking why they were there when Prince Hyung was the proxy for His Majesty.

But Elder Ikjae stood and said, “We will receive His Majesty’s Royal Order.” All the advisors rose to their feet as Do-chi began reading from a scroll and told them that from then on, all Royal Orders had to be proven with the new Royal Seal. And further, the King would resume his governmental affairs, although he appreciated the Prince’s previous efforts. The King invited his subjects to attend his morning meetings at the King’s current dwelling. Lastly, Do-chi announced that the King was giving a new mission to Commanding General Choi Young, who would now be in charge of Military Mobilization. He would stay in the palace until the day when the King returned there, and he would maintain peace and order in the palace.

The Prince had chuckled derisively when the King mentioned appreciating his effort, but the smile left his face when Choi Young’s new role was announced. And with good reason. After Do-chi finished reading the King’s proclamation, Young stated, “I will receive the Royal Order, and I will execute the first step of that mission. Prince Hyung, the seat you’re sitting on now is the throne that only His Majesty can sit on. Please come down from it now.” The Prince chuckled again, this time in defiance. He didn’t move to leave the throne, but he’d been served notice that the King was determined to return to it.

Sometime after the court session ended, Ki Chul was called to the Prince’s quarters. He came reluctantly. He had been talking at length with the High Doctor now that she lived in the palace, and he’d been totally occupied with hearing her description of heaven. What did the Prince want? The Prince informed him, “The King has changed his method. Instead of coming back to the palace, he’s thinking to pick things out of the palace, one by one. Do you know who he sent to direct such a mission?”

Ki Chul scowled, “Did that bastard come back?”

Nodding, the prince continued, “And the first one that bastard would pick out would be your High Doctor.”

Ki Chul asked what he should do. The Prince told him there was no other way, and Ki Chul agreed, saying, “I will strike the King. However, I need a good excuse to do so, since he’s the king of a country.” As their meeting ended, Ki Chul asked if the wedding between the Prince and High Doctor was still set for a month and a half from then. Although the High Doctor had told Ki Chul that the door to heaven would open in two months’ time, he didn’t believe her. She was telling him too many things without hesitation. He thought the portal might be opening sooner than that and suggested the Prince should move the wedding date up.

Meanwhile, Young moved quickly. He brought a number of Woodalchi with him to the palace and instructed them to investigate the Royal Guards and find out which Generals were close to the Prince. He also wanted them to identify any groups that were less supportive of the Prince. He instructed Dae-man to find out where the Prince went within the palace. He hoped to find out where the Prince was hiding Eun-soo’s notebook. Lastly, he directed another Woodalchi to learn more about the private soldiers of Ki Chul.

The other side was investigating, too. Hwa Su-in and Eum-ja came to the King’s dwelling in Hyeongo village. A small group of Woodalchi there initially blocked their way, but Hwa Su-in threatened to harm a few civilians in the area if they didn’t let her enter. Reasoning that the King wasn’t there right then, and she could easily come to one of the King’s morning sessions and create even more trouble, they let her in but watched her closely. Eum-ja had gone over the rooftops to investigate approaches from that angle. The two minions of Ki Chul determined that there were about 20 Woodalchi there at the moment and commented that when the time came, it would take only the two of them to deal with them. Choon-sik came out from another room and seeing them, angrily told them to go. As they left, Hwa Su-in threw an object over her head, back toward the Woodalchi. Knowing her habit of carrying fireballs, everyone ducked, but it was only a small wooden statue. She chuckled scornfully as she left with Eum-ja.

Although Eun-soo was meeting with Ki Chul in the daytime, at night she searched for her notebook in places frequented by the Prince. As the Prince’s fiancée, she had the run of the palace, and so far she had avoided discovery when exploring the Prince’s rooms. This particular night she was searching some smaller gathering rooms. But her luck had run out; a guard was stealthily following her. Suddenly Young, who was also following her, hit the guard on the head, knocking him out. Then he leaned against a doorway, observing her as she opened drawers and examined shelves. He saw her reaching high on a shelf and rushed over to catch a small porcelain bowl she had knocked off a lower shelf with her long sleeves. She jerked around in surprise, asking in whisper what he was doing there. But he told her that her book wasn’t in that room; he’d already looked. Then she pointed to an adjacent room and began walking toward it, saying that the Prince often played baduk there. As they walked past the guard who the General had knocked unconscious, Young noticed he was beginning to rouse and hit him on the top of the head with his scabbard, knocking him out again.

Young led Eun-soo by the hand to the other room. Then, hearing guards nearby, they ducked into an enclosed alcove and shut the screened doors behind them. Young peered out through the crack between the two doors and saw a small group of royal soldiers pass by. Their hiding place was so small they almost touched one another. He gave her one of his long, frank stares, and then looked through the crack in the doors again while asking, “Is there anything else in that book that doesn’t relate to me? Anything that relates to you? Is there anything that is written about you being in danger?” She told him there wasn’t anything like that. He looked back to her and said, “Then, give up that book. I’m aware that Imja can see the future, but never once have I coveted it. So, give it up.”

She protested, “But this…is related to you.”

He told her firmly, “I don’t want to know. I don’t care about when I’ll die.”

With real regret she said, “Then, there’s nothing I can do for you.” He was looking at her again with that intense stare which always stopped her breath. Now her heart sank as she continued, “Soon, we have to part for real. This isn’t like others who fight and part; we can’t go to each other again to reconcile. Nor is it possible to run into each other by coincidence. We will really part from each other.” He looked down in silent agreement. The look in her eyes was sad as she told him, “But if I know that on the other side of Heaven’s gate you’ll be safe and alive, at least I’ll have peace of mind. So how can I give up?”

They suddenly heard a Woodalchi whistle. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, knowing that their parting date was racing toward them. Then he opened the door and went out, closing it after him, saying in a commanding voice, “What’s going on at this hour?” Left in the alcove, Eun-soo's heart ached as she contemplated their parting.

Over the next several days, the Woodalchi at the palace carried out their General’s assignment, observing a variety of troops and their commanders. They reported that there were 11 high-ranking generals who frequented the palace. Their research revealed that each of their families had recently become wealthy. What’s more, even though they had participated in Il-shin’s revolt, none of them had been reprimanded. They appeared to form the core of the troops that supported the Prince. Dae-man told Young about the visit to Hyeongo village by Ki Chul’s pledged siblings. When he heard that, Young became very concerned; they were clearly scoping the place out for an attack, and that attack would likely come very soon.

The Woodalchi had also identified and assembled a group of commanders that might return to the King. Young quietly met with them in his own room at the Woodalchi barracks, where he knew they couldn’t be overheard. The group stood as Young and a few of his men entered. It happened that an old army friend was the spokesman for the group, and Young greeted him with, “Ahn Jae, it’s been a long time.”

Ahn Jae joked, “Hey, Choi Young, you’re the one full of ups and downs! So then, what is it that you wanted to meet so secretly?” Noticing Young’s look at the group, he added, “These are my men and comrades.”

Young replied bluntly, “Then we’ll get straight to the point. You are all traitors that drove the King out of the palace.” As he spoke, many of them clapped their hands to their scabbards, ready to fight. But Young only added, “Am I wrong?”

Ahn Jae replied, “You’re right.” He told Young that he and his men had had no choice, since they were commanded by the Generals who had been suborned by Il-shin.

Young began to create a common bond between the two groups by telling them, “I lost nine of my men fighting against you.” Ahn Jae replied that he had lost thirty men in the revolt.

Then Young asked, “How much money did your superiors stuff themselves with?”

Ahn Jae, who had been disgusted by the corruption of the Generals, acknowledged, “A bit much.”

“Want to come back? His Majesty the King is waiting.”

“Can we come back at our current rank?”

“What if I make it so you can? Will you come?”

Ahn Jae looked at the men behind him, checking on their response, and what he saw was strong agreement. He asked, “And when will that be?”

“Very soon, it might even be in a day or two.” 

After Young's meeting with the disaffected commanders, Dae-man was able to bring a list to the King of those who had renewed their vow to him. It was nine generals and 16 captains. Do-chi broke into a wide grin as he read the list to the King; it was great news. The King ordered a promotion roster of the men to be prepared in advance so they could use them at the appropriate time. But Dae-man had another message from Choi Young as well, to prepare to leave the temporary palace at a moment’s notice.

The Prince wasn’t entirely unaware of what Young was doing; it was what he would have done in the General’s place. As he talked with Ki Chul, they both agreed that it was important to attack the King in Hyeongo village before a significant number of the Royal Army troops defected to the King’s side. Together they reviewed their plan. Ki Chul would attend the Prince’s wedding ceremony, a simple ritual that would be held at a nearby temple. After the ceremony the Prince and his new bride would return to the palace. At the same time, the King would unfortunately die at the hands of a band of robbers. Ki Chul was already preparing to dress about 400 of his mercenaries in plain clothes for the task. After the King’s funeral, the queen would leave for a short trip, and that was when Ki Chul could take her to the heaven’s door and wait for the portal to open. They both smiled in satisfaction, and they agreed that the wedding would take place in just two days.

The following day, Young took time to meet with his aunt. Hearing of his plans, she asked if he wasn’t rushing things too much. He disagreed; he thought something could happen as soon as the next day. But she thought that, since there were many days left until the wedding; couldn’t the High Doctor be brought back to the Royal Medical Office in the meantime? She’d be safe there in case of a revolt, and he’d be able to see her. But he said there was no time to do that.

She told him to be careful, but that only irritated him. “I _am_. How can I be more careful? I don’t even go to see her!” He rolled his eyes in frustration.

She chided, “Don’t lose your temper either! First, drag that Prince Hyung out as a traitor, then bring her back. If you succeed before the first half of next month, then…”

His expression changed as he told her quietly, “That’s … when she will return to Heaven.”

“Really?” She looked at him with sympathy. “Have you asked her if she has thought about staying here…?”

Remembering her nightmares and his recent conversation with her, he said wistfully, “She doesn’t. She doesn’t want to stay here at all.”

“I guess so…considering what she had to go through here…”

Leaving a subject too painful for him to dwell on, he told her, “Please just find out where those generals of the Royal Army might gather. If we capture them one by one, their subordinates will get involved and it will get bothersome. When those heads gather in one place, I’ll take care of them all at the same time.”

Lady Choi heard him about the generals, but much of her mind was still on her nephew and the High Doctor's relationship. She began to muse aloud about something Eun-soo had said that was at variance with what he had just said about her, but Young had already left.

Eun-soo, meanwhile, had had enough of this marriage business, especially given what Young had told her about not wanting to know about the future. She looked at the things she had received, the marriage letter and the wedding presents, and began to gather them up. She pulled down a heavy curtain and spread it out on the floor. She placed all those things in the center of it, folding the curtain over them, and leaving one end loose. She made her way to the Prince’s study, pulling the whole load by that one end, and dumped it on the floor in front of his desk.

She told him, “Let’s end it here.” When he asked what the matter was, she said, “You never intended to have a marriage in the first place. You just needed me to make a deal with that Prince of the Court, Ki Chul.”

Genuinely puzzled, he asked, “Don’t you want to be the Queen?”

“Didn’t I tell you that you can never be the King?”

“Does that mean you don’t need the book anymore?”

“Yes. I gave it up.”

Chuckling nervously, the Prince muttered, “This is a problem.” He’d counted on her desire for it to keep her in their agreement to marry. “Would you teach me what that book is? You never know, I might give it away to you for free if you convince me well.” Lying came quite easily to him.

She replied, “It’s only a problem to solve. I’ll stay with Choi Young for the rest of my time here. And even if I don’t know what the problem is, I still might be able to solve it anyway.”

“So you’re going to break the engagement?”

Eun-soo apologized, saying she was sorry, and then went to leave. But the Prince was far from finished. He told her, “If you break this engagement, the reason will be because of your affair with the Woodalchi General. You’ll become slaves or be exiled. But before that, you’ll be flogged.” She told him the Prince of the Court wouldn’t like that idea, but he replied, “I can send you as a slave to the Prince of the Court. Both of you.”

She sneered, “As if he would get captured obediently as a slave.”

But the Prince told her the soldiers guarding the King were just 50 people. In contrast, he had 2,000 soldiers. “If it becomes a matter of the life of the King, your lover would get on his knees to save the King’s life. His priority seemed to be the King the last time I checked.” From the look on her face, his arrow had hit home, and he smugly returned to his reading.

The next day, the three Suribang warriors were continuing to keep an eye on Ki Chul’s mansion. They saw a man pulling a wagon loaded with several large bags stop at the entrance so the guards could examine it. In a coordinated move, Ji Ho, the young spearman, ran out from a side building and grabbed one of the bags, tossing it well to the side where the tall swordsman sliced it open with a flourish to expose its contents. The bag held a pile of rough clothing. The two Suribang then fled, protected from pursuit by Ji Hul, the young archer who was hiding on a nearby rooftop. They sent word to Young that if the similar-looking bags on the wagon were filled with the same thing, the loaded wagon contained hundreds of outfits that could be used to disguise soldiers as bandits.

When Young heard that, he knew the revolt was at hand. He told Dae-man, “Run as fast as you ever have to His Majesty and tell him to leave Hyeongo village.” Dae-man immediately took off running. Then he told Dol-bae to tell the Royal Army soldiers loyal to the King that all operations would be moved up. As he continued giving instructions, two of Lady Choi’s warrior maidens came to him with an urgent message from her.

Just a little earlier, the Prince’s attendant had come to Eun-soo’s quarters and told her that the wedding would be that same day. Lady Choi was there and thinking quickly, tried to delay by telling the Prince’s attendant that she would escort the High Doctor. She asked where she should bring her. He told her that the wedding party was already waiting in the throne room and they would leave from there for the temple together. Two female attendants moved to escort Eun-soo, who cried, “What is going on?!” Lady Choi tried to intervene again, saying that the High Doctor wasn’t dressed properly yet. But he told her all the preparations were finished and they should go now. Eun-soo anxiously asked Lady Choi what she should do, but she had run out of options. Three male guards stood just outside the doorway to enforce the Prince's order. There was nothing to do but to go with them.

In the throne room, the Prince and his courtiers were gathered, awaiting the arrival of the bride. Yang-sa whispered in Ki-chul’s ear that 400 of their mercenaries had already crossed a river on their way to Hyeongo village. Once they were close to the village, they’d change their attire and begin their attack. Ki Chul wore a satisfied smile as he heard the news. Everything was going according to plan.

Eun-soo, accompanied by Lady Choi and the guards, stopped before entering the throne room and turned away, refusing to enter. Ki Chul, who had come to escort her into the throne room, asked what she was doing, just stopping there. They were all waiting for her. Then he added that his troops were besieging the King’s dwelling in Hyeongo village and would bring the King to court, if he was still alive, so he could officiate at the wedding. Eun-soo still hadn’t moved, so he told her with a smile, “Just go and get it done.”

After a last look at Lady Choi, Eun-soo was escorted into the throne room, the two attendants on either side of her. Everyone stood up as she approached the Prince, who had come down from the throne to greet her, smiling and saying, “I know you’re surprised.” He turned her around and they began walking back toward the entrance, on their way to the temple. The Prince casually told her, “It isn’t too far to reach the temple. Together with our statesmen, let’s feel the autumn wind and walk.” 

But before they had taken more than a few steps, Young, scabbard in hand, appeared in the doorway. He looked at the Prince and the others assembled, then spoke directly to Eun-soo, saying, “What are you doing there?”

Everyone paused, shocked at the intrusion and knowing this would be a serious confrontation. Eun-soo became very afraid for Young; how could he fight the entire court? Alarmed and angry, Ki Chul cried, “You intend to cause trouble on a joyous day like this?” The two men walked closer to each other, Young toward Eun-soo, never taking his eyes off of her, and Ki Chul intending to block his way. Approaching the General, Ki Chul reached out and confidently put his hand on Young's shoulder, intending to disable him with his freezing power. The last time he’d done this, Young’s shoulder had been severely injured and he had barely escaped death. But this was another day; Young’s inner power had recovered, and he was filled with a lover’s righteous anger. He stared at Eun-soo, not even looking at Ki Chul. As Ki Chul’s hand emitted a freezing mist, sparks of lightning power began crackling around Young. He simply grabbed Ki Chul’s wrist with one hand and lifted it away from his shoulder, thrusting it aside. Then he continued walking toward Eun-soo as Ki Chul stared at his own hand in surprise.

Eun-soo ran up to Young, telling him that the King was being attacked. He replied, “I know. That’s why there is no time.”

She cried, “You must go!”

But he didn’t go. Instead, he took a breath to gather himself and told her, “There is no other way.” He reached behind her neck to hold her while he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Everyone in the court had their mouths agape; a kiss was a most intimate thing between lovers, never done in public, and moreover they had never seen someone dare to defy royalty like this. For Eun-soo’s part, she was initially startled, but then leaned into his kiss and closed her eyes. And Young made it a passionate kiss, moving his mouth over hers and staying locked with her for several moments. He was making a very public claim that he was not about to let her go. It was also clear to everyone that she returned his love.


	35. Episode 18, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young stops the marriage of the Prince and the Doctor but is imprisoned for it. The King and Queen flee from Ki Chul's attack.

**Gae Kyeong and Nearby Mountains**

After kissing Eun-soo passionately in front of the shocked court, Choi Young moved to one side of her and directly faced the King’s uncle. He stated, “This wedding cannot be.”

Furious, Prince Hyung told the guards, “This man insulted the fiancée of the royal family. Arrest him!”

Young looked at Eun-soo with a slight smile of satisfaction playing on his lips. As for her, she practically sparkled as she gazed lovingly at him. Young had publicly shown what he felt for her, and at the same time swept her out from under the control of a man he despised. But defying the Prince also meant he was going to prison. He turned and walked by his Woodalchi toward the royal guards waiting for him.

As people gathered for the wedding broke into a buzz of conversation, Ki Chul quietly said to the Prince, “Let’s call off the wedding for now, before scandalous rumors spread.” They both left the room, but Eun-soo continued to look after Young with shining eyes. Right before the guards led him away, he turned around to look at her again with that direct stare, then went with them. She felt a rush of love for him.

The other part of Ki Chul’s and the Prince’s plan started around the same time as the wedding. Several hundred armed men dressed as robbers, along with Ki Chul’s pledged siblings, went to the King’s alternative court in Hyeongo village to capture or kill him and the Queen. But no one was there. Touching a warm teapot, Hwa Su-in noted that they seemed to have left not long ago, perhaps one or two hours before. They decided to split into groups in order to cover three possible directions in which the King and Queen might be going: toward the palace, to the border, or into the mountains.

The Woodalchi and other retainers were accompanying the King and Queen into the mountains, an overland route that would eventually take them to the palace or allow them to stay hidden for a short time if the palace wasn’t yet safe for them to return. Riding in a small carriage, the King moved a curtain aside to look out, then reached over to the Queen, who placed her hand in his. Apprehensive, they held hands to comfort one another as Woodalchi ran alongside, trying to save their lives.

While that was happening, Young was pacing in his prison cell, wondering how his plan to protect the King was turning out. Earlier he’d sent word to Ahn Jae to come to the prison, already anticipating where he’d be. As he paced, though, his thoughts were occasionally interrupted by a memory of how Eun-soo’s lips had felt when he kissed her: soft and yielding, and then opening to him. Whenever that happened, he paused in his pacing and a slight smile appeared on his lips before disappearing again as he resumed prowling his cell.

Finally he heard a voice saying, “You’re working hard!” Ahn Jae came into his cell and with a grin said he’d heard that Young had created an enormous incident. Terse as usual, Young changed the subject, asking Ahn Jae how many of his men were totally loyal to him. Ahn Jae clapped him on the shoulder, replying with a smile, “Why? You want to ask me to break you out of here?”

Young told him, “The King is in danger. Ki Chul’s mercenaries are after him. They’ll probably be wearing robbers’ clothes, around 300-400 men. My men are guarding him, but they’re too few.”

Ahn Jae didn’t respond right away. Young said, “Why aren’t you answering me?”

“You know I need orders from my superior.”

“You mean those superiors that ate bribes and committed treason?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take care of them. Just bring the King safely here.” After Ahn Jae paused again, Young added with a touch of irritation, “We’re running out of time.”

“Which road did the King take?”

“I told him to take the mountain path. And he has your certificate for promotion…so don’t be late.”

Ahn Jae sighed as he got up, saying to his old friend,“You’re going to be the end of me.” He quickly left to gather his own men.

Shortly after, Young heard his cell being unlocked and, as he left his prison cell, the guards bowed to him. Ahn Jae had already instructed the guards to free him.

The King’s carriage wasn’t moving as fast as their pursuers. The Woodalchi were greatly outnumbered, and time was running out as their pursuers closed in. Deok-man returned from scouting and reported that there was a huntsman’s cabin on a side road that led up a hill and into the woods. Choon-sik asked the King and Queen to get out of the carriage and explained where they’d be going. He told Ju-seok to stay there, and that he could only give him 10 men.

Ju-seok understood this meant his own and his team's death, but he simply took a big breath and replied, “Yes, hurry and go please.” He and his men would exact as much payment as they could from the enemy before giving up their own lives. The rest of the Woodalchi began to lead the King and Queen on foot toward the cabin, the Queen looking back over her shoulder at the brave men they were leaving behind, who bowed to her and the King.

Meanwhile, knowing the King was on the verge of being captured and killed, Ki Chul approached the Prince, who was sitting on the throne. “Give me the Doctor now,” he said. “The heavenly gate might open at any time, so I will take her there and wait until it does.”

The chagrined prince replied, “Choi Young knew it all. He knew we can’t touch her even if he is in chains.”

“That’s right. You can’t touch her or lock her up. So give her to me.”

“And the King? Didn’t I tell you that you’ll get the Doctor when I become King?”

Ki Chul growled, “Four hundred of my men are after him and Choi Young is in chains! What more do you want?”

“Was I wanting a bit too much?”

“I only asked you for one thing: the High Doctor. I have been patient because you brought her to me. So don’t be too spoiled. I’m losing my patience.” He snarled, “I’m taking her…first thing tomorrow.”

After Ki Chul left, Prince Hyung left the throne room and angrily stalked into Eun-soo’s chamber. Seeing how angry he was, she backed away and, pointing to the other side of the room, told him, “If you’ve got something to say, say it over there.”

“I don’t understand,” said the Prince, striding up to her. “What did you dislike?” His fist slammed the wall next to her head. “You and I together could rule this country!”

“I told you! You can’t be King.”

“Why? That’s what your oracle or whatever it is says?” He slammed his fist against the wall on the other side of her head. “Let’s do this. That crazy bastard who stopped the wedding, and my pitiful betrothed who suffered…”

But she had been slipping her knife out of its sheath. She grabbed one of his arms, ducked underneath it and twisted, turning him to face the wall. At the same time, she put the knife to his throat. With a smile she said, “I learned this skill from an expert.” Pushing herself away from him, she said, “But this is as far as I know.” She kept the knife pointed at him. As he turned around she cried, “Don’t move!”

“Yes, I heard that you know how to use a knife.” He walked over to a chair and sat down.

Eun-soo told him, “If you’re done talking, get out.”

“There’s one thing I must know. Why did Choi Young let himself get arrested so easily? With his temperament?”

She didn’t respond to his question. “If you don’t leave, I will.”

The Prince told her, “He escaped. He was helped by someone of the Royal Army.”

Relieved and pleased, she smiled, “I knew he would.”

His face grew less angry and more serious. “Listen….Please save me.”

She was incredulous. “ _What?!_ I’m seriously going to go nuts!”

“Prince of the Court keeps asking for you. If I let you go, I have no cards left.”

“So what? What about it?”

“Can you run away? Go to Choi Young. No one can protect you better than he can.”

Intrigued, she sat down across from the Prince. “Keep talking...”

“Escape from Ki Chul. Before he finds out you’re lying about heaven.”

Encouraging him to continue, she said, “Hmm. Yes…”

“Go hide for 10 days. An imperial decree will come from Yuan and I will become King of Goryeo.”

“All right.”

He got up to leave and as he moved past her, he grasped her forearm and pressed in with a ring he wore, breaking the skin, saying, “Just to make sure.”

“Ow!” She cried, “What did you do?”

“It’s a very good poison. It has no big symptoms. But you must come to me whenever I ask, if you want to live.” Then he left.

She looked down at the small round wound on her arm. She couldn’t believe this had happened… ** _again_**! 

Young was as good as his word to Ahn Jae about dealing with the corrupt generals. He was on his way to meet several of them with a few other Woodalchi. Lady Choi had sent messages to them using Prince Hyung’s marker. They would come expecting more payoff money. When they arrived, the other Woodalchi took care of the outside guards while Dol-bae and Young walked into the meeting, startling the generals.

Dol-bae gave Young a scroll. He read from it, “Those who took part in Jo Il-shin’s insurrection…” He read a few names then threw the scroll on the table. “You’ll find the rest of your names there, too.”

One heavy-set general said, “How dare you!”

Young matter-of-factly announced, “The King’s orders. You mobilized the King’s army without permission and you attacked him. So we will be arresting you.”

The large, tough-looking general sneered and said, “Just you two will arrest all of us?”

Unfazed, Young told him, “You don’t obey, you die.”

Most of the generals had not stayed in fighting condition. One man stood up and started to draw his sword, but Dol-bae knocked him over with his _ji_ , a deadly combination of spear and jagged blade. Others began to move and Dol-bae took them on as well. Meanwhile Young and the large general stared at each other. The general was seated at the end of a long table with his sword laying in front of him. When he suddenly made a grab for it, Young simply lifted his foot and shoved the table into him, tipping him off balance. While the general staggered to his feet, Young walked forward and placed the general’s own sword against his neck, saying, “Get on your knees or die now; choose.” When the general didn’t respond right away, he added, “Look, I’m in a hurry, so choose quickly.” The other man knelt.

A short time later, Young sat in a comfortable chair facing out from the room’s entrance with his arms crossed. The generals that still lived were next to him, tied up and kneeling. Several Woodalchi also stood next to him, waiting. They knew word had gone out about the attack on the generals, and several of the commanders serving under them would be rushing over. And indeed that was the case. The officers ran toward them with swords out, but they paused when they saw Choi Young and company.

Young stood up, saying, “What took you so long?” And he asked Dol-bae for another scroll.

Looking at his bound superiors, one officer said, “Choi Young, you’re out of your mind! Release them right now!”

But Young calmly said, “Shut up. Who’s Oh Seok-jae?” One of the officers warily stepped forward, still holding his sword out.

“This is a signed decree from His Majesty. Oh Seok-jae, you are promoted to General. Will you accept?” To all of the officers he said, “Your superiors are traitors that rebelled against the King. Those who want to continue the treason, attack. And those who will swear their allegiance to his Majesty the King, accept the decree. Which is it, Oh Seok-jae?”

The man named Oh Seok-jae and the other officers in front all looked at each other, trying to decide what to do. Young said, “Ai, decide quickly!”

The officer dropped his sword, bowed his head and said, “I will be loyal to the King.” Young threw the scroll to him and he caught it.

“Next. Lee Dong-bae.” And so it went. Several officers received promotions and quickly pledged their loyalty to the King. Seeing the tide turn, the rest pledged as well.

While Young was securing the allegiance of the royal guard commanders, a large body of men led by Ki Chul’s pledged siblings found the King’s empty carriage on the road. Eum-ja used his extraordinary hearing to detect the distant footsteps of the King’s party. As Eum-ja, Hwa Su-in and the rest of their group started up the path leading to the cabin, Ju-seok and his 10 men attacked from where they had been waiting in ambush. A short battle ensued, with the Woodalchi determined to delay the enemy as long as possible. One by one, each Woodalchi was cut down. Ju-seok took a sword slash to the belly but drove his opponent to the ground. But as he stood up again, another sword took him in the back, and he fell. Although severely wounded, he struggled to his feet after the two minions passed him and raised his sword to attack them. But Hwa Su-in heard him coming, turned and stabbed him with a sword. Ju-seok fell for the last time and lay there, his dead eyes staring at the sky. 

In the huntsman’s cabin, the King was remembering the time when Ju-seok brought Young’s message to him. At that time the King had told him to kill himself. He asked Choon-sik, “The ten men. Their leader is Ju-seok?”

“Yes, Sire.”

“I know him,” and turning to the Woodalchi with him, “And I know all of you. How would I not when you’ve been with me night and day?”

The Queen tried to comfort him, “They’ll be all right. You know how brave they all are.”

But the King wouldn’t be comforted. “They’re men Choi Young cherishes. If they’re hurt, he’ll be in so much pain.”

Just then Dae-man ran in and interrupted, “They’re coming! The fire woman and the flute man, too.”

Choon-sik turned to the King and Queen, saying, “We have no choice but to use our last resort. My King. My Queen. Please, take off your robes.”

The King began to protest, but Choon-sik cut him off. “Those were the General’s orders. He gave us permission to do this, to escort you safely to court. He will be waiting there.”

Then he called over two warriors, a man and a woman. They looked a bit like the King and Queen. The Queen wanted to know the plan. “Are you going to have them die in our place?”

And the King added, “I will not allow it. I will meet the leader of those assassins. I am the King and I will dissuade them. And if wagering life is needed, I will do it.” He started toward the door of the cabin.

But Choon-sik stopped him and said in a voice that brooked no disagreement, “Then I’ve no choice but to force you. I _will_ do it, my King!” Turning to several warriors he said, “Group B, hold them back as long as possible, even for a moment. The rest of you, come with me to guard the King. We must not be caught. Hurry!”

The two stand-ins helped the King and Queen remove their robes and then put them on. Then Choon-sik and a few Woodalchi led the King and Queen away from the cabin. Behind them, they could hear the sounds of battle as more Woodalchi and retainers gave their lives to delay the pursuers. Once Ki Chul’s forces invaded the cabin, the two people wearing the royal robes were executed on the spot. In the forest, the King and Queen continued their flight with the remaining Woodalchi surrounding them.

Finally Choon-sik heard noises in the woods ahead of them. They readied themselves for a last, desperate defense. But it was Ahn Jae with a large party of men, come to rescue the King and accompany him to the palace. Seeing the King, he and his men knelt as he announced, “Ahn Jae, a royal army officer, greets the King. I was sent by Choi Young to guard your return to court. We are at your command.” Immense relief, shock at what they had just been through, and sorrow for the lost Woodalchi all warred with each other on the King’s face.

At the palace, Young was instructing his men not to relax their guard while they waited for the King’s return. One of the Woodalchi came up to him and whispered that the High Doctor was back in her quarters at the Royal Hospital. She was asking for him. As soon as he finished his instructions, Young turned and began to walk toward Eun-soo’s rooms. Then he began to run. Arriving out of breath, he rushed to her and took her in his arms, hugging her tightly against his chest.

After a few moments he released her and asked, “Are you all right?” She nodded. He continued, “What happened? Why did he let you go?” And after a pause, “Did you make a deal with him again? What in the world did you do to…?”

She interrupted him, “I cried.”

He was incredulous. “You cried?! And he let you go? Imja…”

She nodded again with a happy smile. “I came to be with you. You should just be happy. But you argue and get mad as soon as you see me.

Taken aback, he briefly looked down, then looked up and confessed, “I’ve been worried out of my mind for the whole day.”

Telling him she was fine, she hugged him. She could feel some of the tension leave his body. After a few moments, and knowing how much more he had to do that evening, she let go and stepped back. “You must go, right?”

Totally distracted by her hug and relief at seeing her safe, he said, “...What?”

“The King… he’s coming back, right? You need to go and receive him.”

“Ah…yes.” He looked at her and smiled. “He’s safe, I’m told. You’ll stay here, right?”

To her nod, he replied, “I’ll come back later.”

Again she nodded with a smile, “Go now. We’ll talk later.” Her eyes were shining brightly again. “I just wanted to see you.”

That brought a smile to his lips. “Yes.” Clearly reluctant to leave, Young slowly turned to go. He went a few steps, turned again to gaze at her for another moment, then left her rooms. He was a man deeply in love.

Her smile disappeared once he left as she thought about the poison lurking in her body and what the Prince would demand for the antidote. She couldn’t bear the thought of Young being subject to the Prince’s machinations again. At the same time she was worried Young would kill the Prince in a rage once he learned of the poison. She’d barely been able to stop him the last time. Perhaps she could find or make the antidote without involving him.

Meanwhile, at his estate Ki Chul was learning that his minions hadn’t managed to kill the King after all. When his men overran the cabin in the woods, it had taken them too long to realize the dead couple wearing royal robes weren’t actually the King and Queen. As a result, the real royal couple had been given enough time to flee into Ahn Jae's and his men's arms. 

Yang-sa worried, “Then where is the real King? What if they find out they were our mercenaries?” But Ki Chul was already turning his thoughts elsewhere, to the High Doctor, planning to bring her to him the next day. He also wanted to form an expedition of others to go with him to heaven, but Yang-sa told him that he was having trouble recruiting people to go. 

This puzzled Ki Chul, who was captivated by the heaven world. He wondered aloud, “Why wouldn’t you want to go there? There are carriages that fly!”

The King’s uncle, Prince Hyung, also received word of the failed coup and decided to leave the palace for Ki Chul’s place. But just as he was going, Young and two other Woodalchi confronted him. The palace guards behind the Prince drew their swords and more guards arrived behind Young and his men, also with swords drawn. The Prince assumed the guards would protect him from Choi Young, and commanded them, “He’s a fugitive. Do not let him escape!”

Countering, the Young announced, “Treason, bribery and what else? The King will interrogate you for those and other charges. You’ll be in a prison cell until he calls for you.” 

And the soldiers turned their swords on Prince Hyung, saying, “At the King’s order!”

Stunned, the King’s uncle looked at the swords pointing at him and then gave a rueful laugh; he’d been outmaneuvered. Young’s face remained grim. He badly wanted to kill this man who had tried to kill him, threatened the woman he loved, and conspired against the King. But he let the soldiers take the Prince away.


	36. Episode 18, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King returns to the palace. Ki Chul is put under house arrest. Choi Young discovers what Prince Hyung did to Eun-soo.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

The King returned to the palace, accompanied by Choon-sik and the remaining Woodalchi who had been with him on his perilous journey. Young and other retainers were there to welcome the royal couple back to the palace and bowed to him as he passed.

With a solemn face the King stopped in front of Young and addressed him, “General.”

“Yes, my King.”

“Forgive me.”

Then the King moved past him and went with the Queen toward his quarters.

A bit puzzled, Young looked after him and then turned to Choon-sik, who had arrived with the King. With great sadness, his second-in-command reported, “We lost ten, and another ten in the defensive cordon, and four more. Twenty-four Woodalchi in total.”

Nearly half of the Woodalchi had died while protecting the King. The other Woodalchi behind Choon-sik were already tearing up in grief for their lost comrades. Young felt like someone had just thrust a knife into his heart. His eyes also began to redden as he looked over his men and saw that many cherished faces were missing. He recalled the time when he had sent Ju-seok back with a message for the King, telling him before he left, “If you happen to die because of me, just in case you do……I’m sorry.” Now, one of the most brave and faithful men he’d ever known was gone, along with so many others.

Young abhorred showing strong emotion in public; kissing Eun Soo in front of the court had been a rare, desperate exception. So he pulled himself together and said to his remaining men, “You did well,” then left to grieve in private.

By that time, Eun-soo was consulting with Dr. Jang about her wound and what poison the King’s uncle might have used this time. He thought it might be venom from a flying insect in Japan. As far as he knew, there was no cure for it. But it took time to work. She wouldn’t have any other symptoms than the rash for about a month. But then she’d develop a fever. Once the fever became serious, she would have just a week to live.

Prince Hyung had told her he had an antidote, but Dr. Jang cautioned, “I never believe the words of those who use poison.” He told her he’d try to make an antidote but couldn’t be sure if it would work.

Dr. Jang asked her if she was going to tell the General. In addition to her other concerns, she had heard about the Woodalchi losses, so she replied, “Not right now. He must already be feeling bad.” Dr. Jang nodded and left, and Eun-soo wondered where Young was. He had promised to return that evening but was late.

Young was in the barracks where there was a hastily erected memorial to the dead Woodalchi. Young was torn by both guilt and grief. He had never known anything other than duty to his Commander and King. It had shaken him to realize that his vow to protect Eun-soo had become ever more prominent as he grew to love her. And that vow and love had diverted some of his attention at perilous times for the court, likely causing more of his men to die and the King nearly to be assassinated. The burden of those deaths felt very heavy on his shoulders. He’d been sitting there for some time when the King entered and looked at him and then at the memorial. Seeing the King, Young rose to his feet and bowed, “Your Highness.”

The King told him, “I’ve been waiting all night for you. What are you doing here?”

With red-rimmed eyes Young softly replied, “I was just sitting here.”

“Those lads you so cherished, they all gave their lives so I could be here. We must be worthy of those lives. I want to plan for tomorrow’s meeting. Let’s go.” The King began to leave the room.

Young, not moving, said, “It’s my fault.”

Annoyed, the king said, “Shall we argue about just whose fault it is?”

But Young repeated, “It is my fault.” He was weighed down with guilt and grief for the lost Woodalchi.

“Look here, General.”

“Because I should have been there. Just like the other time. I knew what Il-shin was planning. But I didn’t stop him. And this time. Being locked in prison for half a day, I missed my necessary timing. Because of it, Your Majesty had to leave the palace.” He paused before adding words that tore at his heart, “And my men…. died.” 

Young knew his relationship with Eun-soo, fleeing with her, caring for her after she was poisoned, and then later stopping her marriage and being imprisoned as a result, had kept him from fully concentrating on protecting the King. After another pause Young continued, “I remember what you asked me before. About who comes first.”

“I remember asking you, yes.”

The General said quietly, “Always. She came first. Loyalty to Goryeo, I’m not sure about it, my King.” He smiled faintly with fondness for the King, and his eyes glistened with tears. 

Uncomfortable, the King said, “So?”

“You could be in danger for having someone like me as your bodyguard.”

“So then?”

His eyes showing deep sadness, he replied, “I beg you to let me go.”

The King was grieving as well and thought that they both needed some time. He said, “Come to the meeting tomorrow. I’ll make a decision about my uncle and Ki Chul. That far, for now.” Then he left.

Young bowed as the King walked out. He felt his eyes fill up again as grief for his lost comrades once again took hold of him. He didn’t regret his decision to love Eun-soo, but the consequences tore deeply at him.

Later that night, Eun-soo was sitting at her table, writing a calendar that showed the days she had left. She looked up, surprised to see Young standing there and asked him, “When did you come back?”

The man she loved looked very somber. To try to lighten the mood, she said with a smile, “Want some beer? There’s no beer, so how about tea?”

He didn’t answer, so she told him, “Take a seat.” She started writing on a blank sheet of paper.

He sat down and told her about Prince Hyung. “He is in prison now. If I’d had more time, I could have solved it. That’s why I didn’t stop your wedding sooner. I didn’t know he’d arrange it so quickly.” She smiled to herself, thinking that the way he had stopped the wedding was just fine.

She related what the Prince had said, that in 10 days a messenger would be coming from Yuan and then he’d be king.

“Ten days?”

“He asked me to hide until then. And make sure Ki Chul doesn’t find me.”

“So this is where you’re hiding?”

“With a knowing smile she replied, “If I'm found, I’ll just need to be protected...by someone.” She paused in her writing and looked up at him. “I heard about your men. Your heart aches and you’re tormented. You can’t eat and you went somewhere alone before here, right?”

He gave a half smile, acknowledging that she knew him very well. She gathered the papers on which she’d been writing and said, “This is from a film. These are letters of my world.” She held up the first page where she had written a short phrase in Hangul. She said, “It’s okay.”

Showing him the second sheet, she said, “Don’t worry.” Next, “Everything will be all right.” And the last, “Right?”

Young smiled at her and said, “Yes.”

But her words on three of the papers were different than what she had said. The papers actually read, “I’ll be by your side,” “Until that day,” and last, “Can I?” She’d thought that right now was not the time to remind him of their parting and at the last moment had changed what she said to him.

But he brought it up anyway. He asked, “When does Ki Chul think the door will open?”

“I told him it’s in two months, but he doesn’t believe it. If he finds me, he’ll take me there to wait in front of the gate.”

Young replied, “Then, we’ll have to keep him here. Wait until I settle a few matters. Stay here until then, and I will protect you. And I’ll take you there … before it’s too late … to Heaven’s door.” As he spoke, they looked at each other with pain in their hearts. After Young left, the papers in front of her grew damp with her tears.

That same evening, the Queen was concerned for the King. He hadn’t come to their sleeping chamber, which often meant he was worrying himself with self-doubt. She searched for him, finding him in the throne room, and told him that she had come for him to go to bed. He said he was thinking about the next day and how he would scold the nobles. He might need to follow through with his threat to go to war with Yuan. As a result more people would lose their lives, including people from her homeland, Yuan. But she replied that Yuan _used_ to be her homeland.

A little surprised, the King asked, “Does that mean Goryeo is now your home?”

“Forgive me. The name of the land doesn’t matter to me. To me…what matters is whether my husband sleeps comfortably or not.”

The King smiled. “You sound like Choi Young. He said something similar, that he will follow his heart.”

The next morning, as Young walked to the King’s meeting, he gave orders for the Suribang to follow Ki Chul and his minions wherever they went, and for the Woodalchi to stop the messenger from Yuan, who mustn’t be allowed to enter the city. When asked what to do if they found him, he said, “Kill him.”

The King’s advisors were already sitting in the meeting room, waiting for the King to arrive. But first, armed guards marched in to stand behind the advisors. Then the King entered the meeting with Young beside him. He announced the reorganization of two armies with new officers. Then he asked the advisors to review the tax ledgers, where most of the state’s taxes had apparently been going to Ki Chul.

Lastly, he confronted Ki Chul about the “robbers” who had attacked him. Several had confessed that they were in Ki Chul’s service. Ki Chul replied that it was news to him, but he would investigate. The King placed him under house arrest while the investigation continued. As he realized that he’d be unable to go to the door to heaven with the High Doctor, Ki Chul began to protest and rise from his chair, but Young placed a warning hand on his shoulder and held him to his seat. He would not be going to heaven’s door anytime soon.

In her apartment Eun-soo was puzzling over some the writing in the notebook. She bent over the table, mussed her hair in frustration, stamped her feet, and leaned way back in her chair. Finished with the King’s meeting, Young came in just in time to stop the chair as it began to overturn. He set her chair upright, told Eun-soo to continue with what she was doing, and sat himself down by the window. He propped his feet on the windowsill and began to read a book he had brought with him. Surprised to see him reading, she asked, “You know how to read?” He nodded. As the son of a scholar, he could read and write quite well. She followed up with,“But what are you doing here?”

“I’m protecting you. Ki Chul is in a very bad mood right now. If he knows you’re here, he might try to take you. I’ve told the men that I’ll be here all day.” She smiled, pleased to have him there.

She looked over to the windowsill and saw that his feet were dangerously close to a few covered pottery jars. In those jars she was brewing what she hoped was an antidote to the Prince’s latest poison. She pushed his feet away, making up a story that she had made a wager with Dr. Jang about who could make an antibiotic first, so she was cultivating some germs to make oriental antibiotics.

While she talked, he was looking at her hair. Young loved her long red hair, but at the moment it was a disheveled mess. She saw him looking at it and went over to her mirror. She raised her arms to smooth out her hair. When she did so, her sleeve fell back, exposing the bandage on her forearm where the Prince had injected the poison. Young spotted it and went over to her. “What’s this?” He grasped her arm and, ignoring her protest that it was nothing, unwound the bandage, seeing the large swelling around the wound.

He demanded, “ _What is this?!_ ”

“Well, this is….”

He peered at it closely. “This looks like a rash from a poison the Japanese use.” Found out, she slowly nodded that it was so.

Greatly alarmed, he asked, “Who did this to you? The Prince?” His voice now rising, “He let you go after doing _this_ to you?”

“It happened all of a sudden so…”

Angrily, he asked, “ _Why_?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

She rushed to say, “I won’t have symptoms for a month, and I’m making the antidote so...”

Pointing to the pots on the windowsill, he said, “Is that what those are for?” She nodded, sheepishly.

He was shocked at what the Prince had done, but also surprised and hurt that she had not told him. His voice was filled with both anger and pain as he asked her, “Am I still so far from your heart… so much you don’t even tell me this? Am I?!”

She replied, “I knew you’d be mad…”

He shouted at her, “Can’t you see _why_ I’m mad?!”

“If I told you, you’d go to him and fight. The last time he asked you to bring the royal seal. He’d ask you for even more this time. How many times did you have to bend your head and even be put in prison because of me? And you’re not someone who should have to do that.”

Unmollified, he dropped her hand. “So, that’s why…you will stay so far from me?” He turned and went to leave.

She ran after him. “Wait! Don’t go!” He paused in the doorway.

From behind she threw her arms around him, saying tearfully, “Don’t turn around. Just listen. Let me ask you this. Should I…Should I not go? Can I stay?”

He started to turn around and she stopped him. She didn’t know if she’d be able to confess her love for him face-to-face. She pled with him, “Can’t I?”

These were words he’d yearned to hear her say, but now…“You’ve been _poisoned_. How can you say such a thing?”

As tears ran down her cheeks she said, “Well then… All the days left to me here, I will love you as my heart says. Can you forget me once I’m gone? You mustn’t ever live haphazardly or sleep to ruin, don’t do that. Can you forget me?”

He swallowed hard and whispered, almost to himself, “Forget you?” Forgetting her would be like forgetting to breathe. He knew it could never happen.

She begged him, “Promise me you will.” And she laid her head against his back and sobbed. He blinked away the tears in his own eyes, struck with her confession of love for him along with the thought of her leaving. His anger forgotten, he didn’t answer her with words. Instead, he slowly turned around and took her into his arms. At that she cried even harder, and he held her close until her sobs lessened while still fighting his own tears. They were both lost to fate at that moment, trying to comfort each other while a bitter parting rushed toward them.

The following day, the Suribang warriors were following a small carriage pulled by just one horse. The carriage was painted black and trimmed in brass, indicating the person inside was of some import. But no one could be seen; a gauzy black curtain hung over the front of it, hiding both the driver and anyone else inside. The Suribangs were repelled twice when they tried to attack the carriage. Whoever was inside was skilled in martial arts and throwing deadly darts. They had no choice but to let it continue on its way, unsure whether or not it contained the envoy from Yuan.

In his home Ki Chul was pacing the floor in a fit of rage The royal army had surrounded his mansion; he couldn’t go anywhere. He threw a celadon vase to the floor, breaking it into shards, and shouted, “Me? Crime of Treason?! Cut off all my source of funds?!” and threw more fine porcelain to the floor. He wanted to kill Prince Hyung with his bare hands; this situation was all his fault. He sent his pledged siblings to find a way to get the Prince out of prison and bring him there.

But at that moment the Prince wasn’t in his cell because the King had summoned him. Escorted by guards to the King’s chamber, the Prince bowed and asked with a smile like that of someone asking a friend about his vacation, “Did you have a good trip, Your Majesty?”

Sitting at his desk, the King only stared at him. The Prince continued, “In your absence, though I’m lacking, I did my best. However, the time was too short.” He approached the King’s desk. Choon-sik moved to stop him, but the King motioned him back to allow it.

The King looked up at him and said, “Since I was little I have known about you, that your intelligence is a rarity not seen in decades. You are versed in other languages and a master of military strategy as well, I heard. Since you’re such an impressive person, I will ask you one question.”

“If my answer pleases you, would you be giving me your throne?”

“That’s a possibility.”

“Ask your question, Your Majesty.”

“Is there something you prize more than this nation, Uncle?”

“You mean an item, Your Majesty?”

“It could be a person as well.”

“There is. _I, myself_.”

For the first time in their conversation the King smiled, responding, “It’s a relief.”

“Does my answer please you?”

“It pleases me, Uncle. It seems that I will make a better King.” And the King directed Choon-sik to send the Prince out of the palace.

“You are letting me go?”

“Go on.”

As the Prince turned to go, Young entered the room. He had gone to the prison only to find the Prince gone. “Your Majesty,” he said as he bowed, “May I interrogate this person?”

“You can’t.”

“Your Majesty, this man used poison on the High Doctor again.”

The King asked the Prince, “Did you?” But the Prince denied it. Furious at his answer, Young began moving toward the Prince, but the King said, “General. I have my reasons.”

Smirking at Young, the Prince bowed to the King and left. Struggling to keep his temper, Young said, “That reason… may I ask what it is?”

“The Queen’s Yuan people sent a message. An imperial envoy from Yuan has arrived in the capital. The envoy has an imperial letter to enthrone Prince Hyung as the Goryeo King. At a time like this, to harm the Prince would be a definite excuse for war.”

Seeing his General’s face so unhappy, he added, “So then…General…”

Young was angry and frustrated, not only by the Prince being allowed to leave but also by the Yuan envoy having made it to the capital, apparently unscathed. He took a big breath, pulled himself together, and said to the King, “I understand.” Not trusting himself to say anything else, he bowed and left the room. The King closed his eyes and sighed, feeling his own frustration with the situation.

Ki Chul's pledged siblings had arrived at the palace to see what they could do to extricate the Prince from prison and bring him to their senior. They were being held up by guards who wanted to know their purpose in coming. Beyond the guards, they suddenly spied the Prince, who was on his way out of the palace accompanied by other guards. As soon as the Prince saw them, he knew what their purpose was; Ki Chul was not a forgiving man. He turned and hurried in another direction. As he fled down a corridor and then turned a corner, a man in a black hat suddenly appeared, disabled his guards, and abducted the Prince.

The next day Eun-soo received an anonymous letter. When Young visited her, she asked him to read it, saying, “You know I’m totally weak with Chinese characters.”

Young opened and read the letter to himself. Then he looked up at her in alarm. “Imja. I think it’ll be best that we run. The Yuan envoy wants the High Doctor.”


	37. Episode 19, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young and the Doctor decide to leave the capital. The Yuan envoy arrives and makes a demand of the King.

**Gae Kyeong, and the road to Heaven's Portal**

After reading the letter that told them the Yuan envoy wanted the High Doctor, Eun-soo and Young decided to leave the palace. In her quarters, he tied up a bundle with the things they’d need for their journey while she dressed in traveling clothes. He was impatient to leave and wondered why it was taking her so long. But soon she emerged from her bedroom. She asked, “If the Yuan envoy says he wants to take me, then I have to follow him? Even if I say, ‘No’?”

As he wrapped and tied the pink bundle over her shoulder, he gently chided her, “You still don’t know how this world works? Before this becomes a royal command, we have to flee. So let’s move quickly.”

“So you’ll come with me? The Woodalchi General?” 

He told her to leave first, and that he would follow her after seeing the King. She wondered whether the King would approve of his General leaving, but he told her he wasn’t seeking the King’s permission. “Right now, the High Doctor is under His Majesty’s guardianship, so the envoy will ask His Majesty for you. I don’t want His Majesty to have to make that kind of decision. Also, if I’m here and His Majesty were to approve, I would have to capture you and send you away with the envoy. Do you understand?” She did.

They looked at each other for several moments, letting the import of running away sink in. She asked what he was thinking, supposing it would be about the King, but he surprised her by saying he was worried to let her start out alone. She responded, half in jest, “So come quickly before I get into trouble!” He called for Dae-man and asked him to take care of her as she left the palace. Before following Dae-man, she smiled at Young to reassure him. She took a few steps, then turned back once more to briefly glance at him before finally leaving. He looked after her for some time. It had only been a short time since they had acknowledged their love for each other, and it was hard to be apart even for a little while.

As Young and Eun-soo were preparing to leave, the King received a letter from the Yuan envoy, and asked Do-chi to read it to him. At Do-chi’s shocked look, the King asked what it said, and his attendant told him, “He’s holding a meeting. He’s gathered the important statesmen and is waiting…he’s asked you to come...!”

The King could hardly believe his ears. “ _My_ statesmen? The Yuan envoy gathers them… _and asks the King to join_? _!_ ” The King gave an incredulous bark of a laugh and snarled, “He gives _me_ orders?!”

On his way to see the King, Young passed the Queen with her retinue in a corridor and stopped to bow respectfully. She asked him if he was going to see the King and he said he was. She gently chided him, “Since yesterday he had been waiting, looking for you to come.” He apologized, and she asked if it was because he was in pain from the loss of his men. He replied that it wasn’t, but she still went on, “His Majesty said this many times, that they were your dearest men and that your heart would be aching.”

Smiling at the King’s concern for him, Young said only, “I’m sure he did.” Seeing that the General wasn’t going to say more, she told him that she wouldn’t keep him any longer, and to go meet the King. He bowed again as she gracefully continued down the corridor. Lady Choi, who was following the Queen, turned back briefly to stare at her still bowed nephew, wondering what was really on his mind.

A very perturbed King entered the meeting called by the Yuan envoy, who was also known as the Dansa Officer. All the statesmen stood when the King entered and made his way to the throne. The envoy turned to him, and with a somber expression that gave nothing away, bowed. The envoy was richly dressed in gold, red and black, emphasizing the importance of his office, and he wore a topknot encased in gold, with the rest of his hair drawn into a long braid down his back with a gold clasp at the top of the braid. The King said testily, “So are you the one who summons a king?”

Keeping his head slightly inclined to the King, the envoy replied, “I’m Sohn Yu, who has the appointment of Yuan envoy to Your Majesty, with overall administrative jurisdiction power.”

The King sat down on the throne as he said, “So then, what brings you here?”

“The Yuan Emperor has said this, ‘For the last decade and some years, numerous Goryeo kings have ascended and descended the throne. But all of them were incompetent. I shall not trust any other Goryeo king.’”

Everyone was shocked to hear this. Elder Ikjae even muttered to the King, “Your Majesty, now they openly humiliate us?!” And another scholar angrily cried that those words should not be tolerated. But the King asked the envoy to continue.

“Your Majesty, is there an instance of you putting the royal seal bestowed by Yuan aside?” The King admitted that was true and told him to continue. “That is the justification to dethrone the incompetent King. The Emperor wishes to denationalize the country and turn it into a fortress of Yuan.” The King told him that was impossible. The envoy replied, “Then, you will be fighting against the Yuan army.”

But the King refused to be intimidated, saying, “Since my only other choice is to hand over my nation, of course I will fight.” The envoy asked if the King thought he could win. Defiant, the King told him, “Some wars must be fought even when victory isn’t certain.”

The envoy chided, “Those are impressive words at a glance, but they will push your innocent people onto the battlefield.” The King angrily warned him not to try to confuse him with cunning words. No one would be afraid of a war when their own land was at risk.

The envoy tried an alternative approach. “Though I am serving in a Yuan government post, I am a Goryeo person. I have come to find a way to leave Goryeo as an independent country.”

Even as the envoy was speaking, Young approached the doors to the throne room. An attendant stopped him, telling him that anyone not summoned to court could not enter. He decided to wait outside the doors to speak with the King. Inside, the Yuan envoy continued gravely, “In my possession is an imperial letter to enthrone His Highness Prince Hyung as the Goryeo King. However, there is a condition: he will be Goryeo’s last king. He is to abolish Goryeo and make himself governor of a Yuan province.” The King commented that, of course, his uncle would have consented to that. The envoy acknowledged that he had already done so.

The King asked about the last chance the envoy had previously mentioned to keep Goryeo independent. The envoy told him, “First, you must use Yuan’s Royal Seal again. Second, capture the instigator who confused your mind, the woman called the High Doctor.” At the King’s incredulous look, he clarified, “The one who not only bewitched Your Majesty, but other royalty as well as the chief of your military. Execute her.” Everyone was thoroughly shocked as he continued, “Execute her yourself. In doing so, I will report to Yuan that His Majesty has removed the wily thing that menaced the court and has recovered his sane mind.”

The King protested, “She is an innocent woman!” But the envoy told him she was infamous all the way to Yuan and deserved death.

After the meeting with the envoy ended, the King continued sitting on his throne, pondering what to do long after everyone else had gone. As the advisors filed out of the throne room, they nervously avoided making eye contact with Young as he waited to be announced. Someone else would have to tell him that Yuan was demanding his lover’s execution. Following the advisors out of the room, the envoy, upon hearing the announcement, “Commanding General Choi Young begs to see His Majesty,” turned to see who that person was and stayed to hear the King’s response.

Three of his Woodalchi came out of the meeting room with somber faces and bowed to their General. He asked, “What is it?”

Before they could respond, Do-chi came forward and told him, “He says he won’t meet you.”

Concerned, Young inquired, “His Majesty…nothing’s happened?” But Do-chi only restated that the King wouldn’t meet with him. Young looked at his Woodalchi, but they only shook their heads.

Young decided to return to his room in the Woodalchi barracks and take care of a few things before leaving to meet Eun-soo. As he put his few personal effects into a chest, Choon-sik entered and told him they’d received orders to increase the Woodalchi force to 200 men. In order to add that many men, they’d have to loosen their qualification requirements. Young took a few moments to reply, “To be honest, the one who’s led the Woodalchi for the past seven years is you.” Choon-sik admitted that in certain ways that was true; he had handled the day-to-day affairs and training. Young started to give him an order to monitor the envoy’s movements but canceled it with a sigh. He would not be there to receive the reports.

Changing the subject, Young asked Choon-sik about the King; was he not sleeping well? The other man confirmed that the King had worked until dawn the previous night. Concerned for the King’s welfare, the General told him, “I think Prince Hyung has sided with the Yuan envoy.” Choon-sik asked what he should do, and the General reminded himself that his second-in-command was no strategist. He’d need to leave dealing with the Prince and the Yuan envoy to the King. Sighing, he thought about what he could say to help Choon-sik and the King. Finally Young urged, “Don’t think after a problem occurs; think before something happens. His Majesty is someone who thinks overly much. When it gets late, make excuses to escort him to the Queen. And one more thing…” his voice sunk to a near whisper as he added, “Please take good care of him.” Then Young gave the chest he’d been filling to the other man, who asked where he should put it. Always uncaring about material things, Young told him, “Just dispose of it.”

Eun-soo had already left the palace and was on her way to the Suribang headquarters with Dae-man. As they walked, Dae-man told her about his own history. He had been orphaned at eight or nine years old, he wasn’t sure which, and had begun to live alone in the mountains. She couldn’t understand how a young child could survive there, but he had somehow done it, largely by scavenging and stealing from both animals and people. Then, when he was 13 or 14, he had met the General. The Red Crescent Moon army had come to the mountains to get rid of a group of well-armed robbers who had been threatening people in the region, and in passing they had heard about sightings of a young boy in the forest. After the troops dealt with the robbers, Young had set a trap for Dae-man, using food as the bait. Eun-soo thought that must have been a relief to be among humans again, but not to Dae-man. He told her he had bitten the General on the hands and legs and ran away as soon as he could. But the General caught him and got bitten again. That had gone on for five days and nights, Dae-man running and the General following. Exhausted, Dae-man finally fell asleep, and when he awoke, the General was grilling fish for him. He chuckled happily at the memory and agreed when Eun-soo commented that that must have been when they became close. He had been the General’s shadow ever since then.

Dae-man suddenly became quiet and stepped between Eun-soo and a man who was passing by. Wearing plain clothing and a dark-colored bamboo hat, the man’s face wasn’t visible except for a mustache and a short beard. Once he had gone by, Dae-man told Eun-soo that the man didn’t make any noise as he walked, and he didn’t want to fight someone like that. What he meant was that the man moved like an assassin and was likely to be very dangerous.

Young returned to the palace to see his aunt before leaving to meet Eun-soo. Genuinely puzzled, he asked her, “Why in the world is His Majesty refusing to see me?”

“And if he did meet you?”

“I’d tell him I’ll be leaving the palace for a while. And if he won’t grant permission…”

She interrupted with, “He approves. So hurry and leave, he says.” The King had actually said for them to flee far away and not look back. And the Queen had asked Lady Choi to give her regards to High Doctor. Lady Choi added, “Publicly, His Majesty has consented to handing over High Doctor. You have to pretend you didn’t know his decision. That way you won’t have defied a royal command.”

Young was still curious about why Yuan would want the High Doctor; what could she do for them? But Lady Choi’s thoughts were elsewhere. She cared for the High Doctor, but she was just as concerned about Young and the King and Queen’s welfare, knowing what an important role Young had been playing in protecting them. She asked if was possible for him to stay at the palace and ask the Suribang to take the High Doctor to the portal of heaven. Wouldn’t that work?

He answered, “Only 20 days are left until the portal opens. You’re asking me to give up being with her and bid farewell here?” She told him that those 20 days might destroy what he had built, and he might not ever be able to come back. But he only smiled sweetly at her and said, “Aunt, for the past seven years that I’ve lived in the palace, there’s not much I can recall from those years.” He added quietly, “I have nothing to lose.” She sighed, knowing there was no way she could stop him.

He got up and turned to go. But she had one last thing to tell him. “Don’t get caught. The envoy doesn’t want to take High Doctor to Yuan, he wants her publicly executed.”

Shocked, he whirled around. “What if he finds out that she’s gone? What will happen to the King?” She started to reply, but he stopped her, knowing her answer would just tear at him. “No. Don’t tell me. Because I can’t stay here.” He smiled sadly as he said, “And once I leave, I don’t deserve to come back. Why should a person like me need to know about the King?”

After being abducted while trying to leave the palace, Prince Hyung had been taken to the Yuan envoy’s quarters by the envoy's man, the same man that had so disturbed Dae-man. After the Dansa Officer returned from court, the Prince asked him if the King had agreed to his conditions. The other man said, yes, he had, but the Prince expressed skepticism that the King would actually do those things. However, the envoy had something else on his mind and changed the subject. He asked, “Did you sent my horseman on an errand? I heard you sent a letter to that woman called the High Doctor. Was it so that His Majesty, even if he wanted to execute her, wouldn’t be able to find her?” The Prince laughed uncomfortably at getting caught. He admitted it but excused himself by saying that, after all, she had been his fiancée, and he couldn’t bear to watch her be executed. The envoy wasn’t done, though. “The one who left with that woman is called Choi Young, was it? Was that also intentional, to get him to leave the King?” The Prince only commented that he was a man of no use, to leave his King so easily; the foolish King had actually trusted such a man. The Prince urged him to appoint him, the Prince, as King and get it finished. But the envoy bluntly replied, “From what I saw, this King is ready to go to war if we push him. As a bureaucrat, my job is to complete a mission paying the least price for the most efficiency. Here, my mission is to make the least sacrifice possible in making Goryeo a Yuan province. If I need you to achieve that, I will request your help.” And the Prince had no choice but to wait on the envoy’s decision.

Meanwhile, that “man of no use,” Choi Young, had not only changed clothes but also changed how he wore his hair. He removed his headband and unbound his short hair tail, letting his locks fall where they may; it would camouflage his identity somewhat. To him, the headband had also been a symbol of his command, and he contemplated the folded cloth while sitting in the Suribang’s kitchen. He tucked it into his jacket when Eun-soo and Dae-man arrived. With barely a greeting, he stood and took her bundle from Dae-man. Then he and Eun-soo left after the Suribang sister gave them a heartfelt farewell. Young glimpsed the stealthy man in the dark-colored bamboo hat observing them as they left, but decided to wait to see if they were followed.

The couple walked for some time through the streets of Gae Kyeong and finally left the capital city. They were following a path through a lightly wooded area when Eun-soo started stumbling over the ground because she was tired. Young decided to take a break to let her rest. She sat down at the base of a tree and let out a big sigh of relief. He set his scabbard against the tree trunk and knelt in front of her. Taking her arm, he unwrapped the bandage around the poison wound. She noted that the swollen red ring around the wound hadn’t grown in size and she didn’t have any symptoms, so she told him not to worry. But he asked her to confirm, “Once you return to the heaven world, you’ll be cured right away, right?” She told him it would only take one exam and one shot. Looking worriedly at her wound, he said, “I’ll trust you,” and wrapped it up again. He sat down next to her as she rolled her shoulders to relax them. He looked over at her and patted his shoulder, saying, “Come over,” wanting her to rest her head there. She hesitated, but when he repeated, “Come,” and patted his shoulder again, she snuggled up against him and he smiled contentedly. “Walking is too hard for you, isn’t it?” He asked.

“I’ve lived life riding in things. After coming to this world, I seriously walked a lot, for real.”

“Was there anything that you liked here?”

“Hmm, let’s see…”

“There isn’t? Not even one?” He rarely fished for compliments, but he was hoping she’d say it was him.

She sat up and smiled at him, saying, “Right. There is.”

“What is it?”

“Do it again.”

“What?”

“That.” She imitated his low voice tone, saying gruffly, “What? What are you doing? What is it?” She smiled at him again and he gave her a rare grin that showed charming dimples on his cheeks. He reached an arm around her to hug her even closer to him, and they happily rested there for a time.

Back at the palace, the King met with his closest ministers, as well as Choon-sik of the Woodalchi and Ahn Jae of the Royal Army. He wanted them to prepare for war with Yuan. First, he wanted to establish a military training camp and procure provisions from all provinces in the country. Then, because Choi Young wasn’t there, he placed General Ahn Jae in command of all armies. He was to reach combat readiness as soon as possible. Ahn Jae asked to speak, and when given permission, said that General Choi Young was the most qualified because he had led two of the armies in the last war and had never lost a battle, whether large or small. Men would follow his orders better. The King interrupted him, telling him that he, Ahn Jae, would be taking command. Then the King asked for any domestic intelligence on Yuan. Elder Ikjae told him that Yuan was already fighting a rebellion by the group known as the Red Turbans, and that war was intensifying. He asked the King if he really intended to wage war and suggested that the King send him to Yuan to try to meet with their officials. The King replied that his first goal was to prevent Yuan from starting a war. The message was, if Yuan wanted Goryeo, they must shed their own blood first. Then the King, forgetting that Young was no longer there, turned to his side, asking for his General’s opinion. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room as the King keenly felt the absence of his friend and close advisor.

Having learned of the flight of Young and the High Doctor, Prince Hyung went to Ki Chul’s mansion to inform him. But Ki Chul, angry and suspicious of the Prince’s failure to deliver the High Doctor to him, grew even angrier with the news. His hand began to give off a telltale frosty mist as he approached the anxious Prince. But before he could touch the Prince, he experienced a backlash of his inner power and fell to the floor in agony, his freezing power flowing back into him instead of out. His minions rushed to him, but no one could touch him without being injured themselves. Hwa Su-in applied her own fire power to counteract Ki Chul’s, and eventually they got him into a warm bath where his symptoms eased. While recovering, he instructed his pledged siblings to find and return the High Doctor to him. He knew where they had to be going, but he didn’t want to go to the portal and wait for them. He felt his own time was growing very short, so he wanted the Doctor within his power as soon as possible. He ordered posters made and distributed to every beggar, robber, killer and hunter with the couple’s likeness, and told Yang-sa to tell them that the ones who brought the High Doctor to him alive would receive a substantial reward. He also wanted them told that, in order to bring the High Doctor, they would have to first kill her companion.

At dusk the next day, Young and Eun-soo arrived at a small village and approached an inn for something to eat and a night’s rest. Young was alert for danger, expecting that Ki Chul would be pursuing them. He looked around before they entered the inn’s common room, walked to a table and sat down. He noted that there were two other groups in the inn, a group of four men and a table with just two men at it. He ordered two plates of food, keeping one eye on the other tables while Eun-soo looked forward to a good meal. She suggested that they order some drinks too. He gave a short shake of his head; he didn’t want to dull their senses. But she raised her hand and called to the server. He grabbed her hand and pulled it down, but she’d already called attention to herself and the fact that she was a stranger to the customs of this land. The server came over and Eun-soo ordered a bottle of what the men at the other tables were drinking, but the server only looked to Young for his approval. He gave a brief nod. As they waited for their drinks, Eun-soo happily conversed, telling him about a bar in Seoul that resembled the inn and had very good liquor. Young was only listening with half an ear, noting that one of the men had gotten up and gone outside.

The man had left the inn to take a good look at a poster he carried in his jacket. He suspected the couple inside were the people on the poster. When he unfolded it, he couldn’t read the descriptions, but the drawings of the two people were close enough. He returned to his group in the inn. Meanwhile Eun-soo's and Young’s wine and food had arrived. Eun-soo poured them both a drink and touched his cup in a toast, saying, “Daejang, cheers!” He set his cup down without drinking from it. She asked, “You’re not going to drink?” To please her he took a brief sip but remained silent, on alert. Blissfully unaware of their danger, she said, “Now that I think about it, this is our first time drinking together. Right?”

He said, “Right,” as he saw the man intently conversing with the other men at his table. Some of them covertly glanced toward the couple. Eun-soo asked him if he didn’t like alcohol, and he absently replied, “Not particularly.” Then he told her, “Imja… when I say, ‘Now’, you drop face down immediately.” She began to reply, but before she could get more than two words out, he said, “Now!” She ducked down and he stood up, grabbed a nearby chair and threw it into one of the attackers who had already started toward them. Then he fought the others with fists and kicks. They were not skilled assassins, only local thugs who hoped to win a big reward, so Young quickly disabled them. In just a few seconds, some were unconscious, and others groaned in pain as they lay on the floor.

The inn must have had fighting break out fairly frequently, because the two men seated at another table hadn’t gotten up during the mayhem; they continued with their meal. Young returned to Eun-soo, who was still bent over, and asked if she was all right. But an anxious Eun-soo only sat up with a gasp, grabbed her cup of wine and downed it in one gulp. Looking at the men on the floor, Young noticed part of the poster sticking out of one man’s jacket. He picked it up and unfolded it. Looking over his arm as he read, Eun-soo commented, “Is that…us? Is this like a wanted poster?” Young said it was an appearance poster and that the reward for capturing her was rather high. He didn’t tell her that the poster also gave a reward for killing him. Instead, he only told her that, because the reward was so high, their path would become very difficult from then on. Eun-soo quibbled about the drawings, thinking that they didn’t look much like them. It was true they were rough drawings, and the picture of Young showed him with his hair bound up and with a headband. But they had been good enough likenesses for the men who attacked them. Young briefly glanced at the other two men in the room, wondering if they would also try for the reward.

In Gye Kyeong, the King was continuing to stay up very late and had trouble sleeping even when he finally went to bed. On this particular night, he was sitting at his desk when the Queen marched into his study. He took one look at her and knew why she was there. He told her, “I was about to come soon.” She didn’t reply but came toward him with a purposeful look in her eyes. Feeling a bit guilty, he told her, “It’s true. I really was about to come.” But she only stepped up to his desk and started putting his seal and papers away. He stood aside, feeling a bit like a pupil who was late to class.

The Queen finally turned to him and asked, “Now tell me. What is today’s problem?” He wasn’t sure what she meant, so she explained, “Day by day a new problem arises, doesn’t it? I can’t listen to all of them. So I will just listen to today’s problem, and we can worry over it together. And I also came so we can spend the night together.”

The King smiled to have such a perceptive and loving companion for a wife. He replied, “Today’s problem is that, in order to maintain Goryeo’s independence, I have to show them something.” She told him she already knew about the Dansa Officer’s demand to use the Yuan seal and execute the High Doctor, so he added, “But I don’t have that seal or the High Doctor.”

She asked, “Then will they raise an army against us?”

“They might if I don’t step down and become a province governor.” She asked if he’d go to war with them. “That is what I don’t know,” he replied. “That’s what keeps me up all night.” After a pause, he asked her, “My Queen. What would you do as my wife if I was a commoner who must fight in a war?” She started to answer, but suddenly became nauseous and stopping talking. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to vomit. Very alarmed, he held her and shouted for help. Lady Choi and Do-chi came running in, and the Queen ran out of the room to her chambers, Lady Choi running behind her. The King looked at Do-chi, who was trying to hide a smirk, confusing the King even more.

Later, after Dr. Jang had examined the Queen, he reported to the King that the Queen appeared to be pregnant. Do-chi and Deo-ki beamed with the good news. Dr. Jang congratulated the King, but added that the Queen’s health was somewhat fragile, and she’d need to be cautious. The King was staggered by the news, and could only get out, “M-May I see her?” Dr. Jang said of course he could.

Rushing to the Queen’s chambers, the King was greeted by Lady Choi’s smiling bow and the words, “Congratulations, Your Majesty.” The King entered the Queen’s bedchamber where she was waiting for him. He asked if she felt better and she told him she did; in fact, she fairly glowed with the knowledge of the new life growing inside her.

His face filled with wonder as he gazed at her. “How I was so fortunate…how I was able to meet someone like you…” His eyes grew moist as he tenderly cried, “My Queen,” then took her into his arms saying, “Thank you. Thank you truly!”


	38. Episode 19, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young and the Doctor are chased by assassins. The Queen receives a message from the Yuan envoy.

**Gae Kyeong, and the Road to Heaven’s Portal**

It was late at night when Eun-soo woke up. She looked around the room they had rented for that night, but she didn’t see Young. She got up, went to the door and looked outside. There he was, at the bottom of the steps to their room, pacing slowly back and forth. Every so often he stared into the distance. She came down the steps, smiling and yawning, and sat on the bottom steps. He sat down next to her, saying, “I thought there might be someone targeting us in the night.” Seeing her continuing to yawn, he told her, “Don’t worry about a thing. Just go in and sleep.” She only smiled while she studied him. He said, “What?”

She pointed to where she had seen him looking, and asked, “Over there. The palace is in that direction, right? Last night I saw too, before I went to sleep, that you were just glancing in that direction.”

As usual when he didn’t want to talk about something, he ignored her question, telling her, “Go in and sleep. You’re barely keeping your eyes open.”

But she persisted, “You’re worried about the King, right?” He looked down, not denying the truth of what she said. Seeing that, she told him, “Then let’s do this. The village where I first arrived, the place where the heaven door is…Just take me there and go back to the palace.” Smiling reassuringly, she added, “I’ll let you go, it’s all right.”

But he replied, “I can’t go back.” She asked why not. Smiling slightly, he answered, “As a Woodalchi, I wouldn’t tolerate a warrior like me, so I let myself go.” She asked him what kind of Woodalchi that was. Ever since he had killed the Chisal assassins, he had felt increasingly reluctant to kill. It disturbed him greatly and made him question what use he was to anyone. So he honestly told her, “If a warrior hesitates in using the sword, he’ll die. A warrior who now hesitates…can’t safeguard his Majesty.”

“Even just for a day in your life, instead of what others tell you to do, what they ask you to do for them…Have you ever spent a day doing what you wanted to do?”

After a short pause he told her, “Yesterday and…today.” These were the days they’d been together on the road.

Suddenly Young looked alarmed and shot to his feet, grabbed Eun-soo by the hand, pulled her to her feet and ran up the stairs to their room, pushing her ahead of him to protect her with his back. They were almost to the door when he protectively ducked down over her as a knife slammed into the wall next to them, just a few inches from his back. They quickly entered and he shut the door behind them. Once they were inside, he pulled her down into a crouch and told her, “They must be killed, so stay here.” She nodded vigorously. He searched her face briefly to assure himself she understood and nodded once. Then he stood up, drew his sword and kicked the door open, going out to face the men who were there to kill him and kidnap her. His reluctance to kill vanished in the face of this immediate threat to Eun-soo.

Sure enough, there were the two men from the inn who had calmly kept eating while other men attacked the couple. From their stances he could instantly tell that these men were more skilled than the previous group. One of the men was already on the steps to their room when he emerged. Young closed the door behind him, and with his sword extended, slowly came down the steps, staring intently as the other man retreated back down the stairs in front of him. Once the man reached ground level, and while Young was still on the stairs with less room to maneuver, he leaped at Young, slashing at him with his sword. But Young leaped diagonally off the remaining stairs, avoiding the other man’s blow and slashing him across the throat as he went. Continuing his stride, he ducked to avoid a blow from the other man. The two men circled, taking the measure of each other by making a few quick feints and attacks. Eun-soo, worrying about Young, cracked open the door to watch. Finally they attacked simultaneously, but Young whirled and moved across the other man with a slash so quick that he was standing on the opposite side of the man before he even fell to the ground. Looking at Young breathing heavily after his exertions, Eun-soo gave a deep sigh of relief to see him unhurt.

At the palace, the King learned from a Suribang report that Prince Hyung had been staying at the Yuan envoy’s quarters since the envoy’s arrival, and that Ki Chul’s assistant was buying a great deal of medicine. He realized that the envoy must have learned from the Prince that he had neither the seal nor the High Doctor to give, yet those were the very things he had demanded of the King. In response, the King ordered Choon-sik to reward the Suribang for their information gathering and have them determine where the relationship stood between the Prince and Ki Chul. And if that relationship had gone awry, he wanted to know the reason. Then the King went to meet again with the Dansa Officer. Since the King knew that the envoy was aware he could not meet either of the two conditions he had demanded, he asked him, “So you came to look for what you asked? Why use such a complicated method? Aren’t you here to abolish this kingdom anyway? Just do your mission and don’t play tricks with the seal or the doctor. And I will drum up all my strength to fight back.”

It was then that the envoy said that, whether it was to be the seat of the Goryeo King or governor of a Yuan administration of Goryeo, there were two candidates. The one in front of him was ready to go to war, while the other valued his own safety over anything else. The King asked, “So you’re in the midst of choosing between the two? Was that also a mission you received from Yuan?” The envoy told him it was so. The King scoffed, saying, “Then what shall we do? Should I dance in order to please you?” But the envoy only repeated his demands and then added that he couldn’t wait more than three days for the King’s answer.

The meeting ended, and as the envoy walked along a palace corridor with two of his men, he told one of them, “We’re going to need that woman called the High Doctor, so that the King’s decision will be easier. Find the High Doctor and bring her to me. And kill the man with her, although he is known for his warrior skills. But with a woman to protect, he won’t be as good. You should be able to take care of him.” The man, the same person of whom Dae-man had earlier been so wary, put on his bamboo hat and headed out, his feet still making no sound as he walked.

Later, a note was passed to a palace guard who in turn passed it on, eventually finding its way to the Queen. Her attendant told her that it was from the Dansa Officer, and that she’d been told to give it privately to the Queen. The envoy’s bright orange seal was easily visible, both on the envelope and on the letter itself. The letter read: “ _The mother of Your Highness the Princess has a message she wishes to relay in secrecy through Dansa Officer Sohn Yu. Please meet at the Bojae Temple shrine._ ” The Queen decided to follow the letter’s instruction and began to plan how to be alone long enough to meet the envoy privately.

That same day, Young and Eun-soo were continuing their journey to heaven’s door. As usual, Eun-soo made conversation while the taciturn warrior stayed mostly silent, scanning the terrain and being alert for danger. A bit bored, she decided to teach him how to do what she called “a spell from heaven,” but he told her it didn’t make any sense. She kept pressing him, trying to get him to stop by stepping in front of him, but he nimbly sidestepped her and kept walking. She was telling him, “Why doesn’t this make sense? I learned horseback riding and how to use a dagger from you! I’m just saying I can teach you something in return for the favor.”

He tersely replied, “I’m fine.”

Finally she pulled insistently on his long robe, saying, “Would you just stop! It’s a spell widely used in heaven.” He fastidiously straightened his robe while looking at her skeptically. She continued, “It’s a magical spell used by everyone in heaven. So learn it and use it when you need it. You can also teach your men.” Scowling, he told her that the introduction was too long.

Undeterred and smiling, she told him, “Fine then. Clench your fist like this,” and she held up a fist with the back of her hand facing out. “Try it.” He made no move. Then jerking her arm down a few inches, she said, “Fighting! When I feel low or I have no energy and feel like just going to sleep. When you feel like that, you go like this, ‘Fighting!’” And she repeated the motion using both arms. He just turned and started walking again. Left behind, she looked after him, muttering to herself, “Is it really so hard? It’s only two syllables!”

Later she tried to teach him another hand motion that they used in heaven when making a promise. She told him that in Goryeo, you only promise with words. She took his hand and wrapped her little finger around his and then folded his hand into a fist and touched their thumbs together, telling him that was a promise. If he did that, he wouldn’t need to wager his life. To appease her, he told her he understood. But in reality he couldn’t afford to divert his attention; he was constantly scanning for danger. Unaware of how much effort that scanning took, she pressed on. This time she tried teaching him “High Five,” slapping each other’s palms against each other. When he still made no motion, she pleaded, ”Please try it once. Look how I’m asking so pitifully.” He sighed with resignation and put up his palm. Telling him that this spell didn’t need any words, it was just give and take from heart to heart, she slapped her palm against his in a high-five. Then she did it again, describing it as, “Look, cheer up, let’s do well.” She told him to try it with the King, too. Seeing his expression, she asked, “What are you thinking?”

Cocking his head slightly to the side, he told her, “Wondering what’s on your mind.” With a smile, she slapped his palm again, but this time, he curled his fingers around hers, then let go and put his arm around her, turning her and pushing her a little in front of him. He began walking while telling her, “Don’t follow from behind and go in front of me like this. It’s easier to protect you.”

She turned to him saying, “I’ve got another thing to teach you.” He told her that was enough, but she pleaded, “Just one more.”

But his patience was exhausted, and he repeated, “That’s enough!” as he hurried her along.

They came to a small village and saw small groups of soldiers talking with each other. Eun-soo asked if those soldiers were looking for them. He told her no, they were provincial soldiers and, looking at their attire and weapons, they appeared to be newly recruited army men. She thought he should go and find out while she went to an herbal medicine shop she had spied nearby.

When she mentioned the medicine shop, he immediately became concerned, asking, “Why? Are you feeling ill?” But she assured him no, she just needed some backup medicine. She asked him to come get her there when he’d finished his investigation of the soldiers.

Entering the modest medicine shop, she found an older man treating a young child as the mother sat nearby. She said hello and asked him if he had any wasp honeycomb, but he told her to wait a minute while he finished with the child. Afterward, she consulted with him about her arm, saying she thought it was flying insect poison, but could he tell for sure? He told her a little sadly, “There is no antidote to flying insect poison. However, with acupuncture needle treatment, the pain can be much lessened.”

She muttered to herself, “So there wasn’t an antidote. That jerk! He should hope I don’t see him again!”

To the herbalist she asked if he could teach her how to do acupuncture She didn’t want Young to see her in pain. He ignored his own injuries or pain, but it caused him great distress to see her suffer. The herbalist told her, “Yes, I’ll teach you since you’re pretty.” That brought a smile to both their faces.

While she had been waiting to consult with the herbalist, the envoy’s assassin looked in on her through one of the window screens in the shop. He knew he’d have to deal with Choi Young first in order to return her to the capital. As he walked away from the shop, another man carrying a spear had recognized him and waited for him around the corner of a building. The spearman stepped in front of him and said, “Lee Bang! That woman is mine,” and attacked him. The envoy’s man quickly palmed a knife, blocked the other man’s attack and swept the knife across the side of his throat, killing him. The envoy’s assassin was just as deadly as Young.

After leaving Eun-soo at the medicine shop, Young had walked a little further down the road and saw a line of men waiting in front of a soldier sitting at a small table. Approaching one of the waiting men, he asked if there was an army draft and the man nodded. Goryeo was taking on men who were able to be soldiers. Another man urged him to be quick to enlist, since they might reach their quota soon. A ton of slaves had been set loose by a recent royal pardon, many of whom would be interested in joining the army and receiving clothes, food and weapons. Curious about why there was a draft, Young approached one of the regular soldiers, asking if there was something happening at the border. But the soldier only told him to get in line if he wanted to be drafted. Unused to being ignored by an underling, Young asked him who was his superior. When the surprised soldier said, “What?” Young emphatically asked for his superior. The soldier shouted at him, “Why this bastard…who do you think you are?” At that shout, several other soldiers came running over and Young realized he’d forgotten himself for a moment; he wasn’t a commander anymore. Worse, he’d drawn attention to himself. He sighed, reprimanding himself for his brief lapse, then quickly explained to them that he was traveling across the border to meet relatives on the other side, so he needed to know what was happening there. Warning him about his insolent mouth and still grumbling, but noting his imposing height and sword, they let him go. As he walked away, he noticed three other men looking at him. They were roughly dressed but armed with bows and arrows. He spotted yet another man who gave him a quick stare, then walked away. Alarmed, he immediately hurried back toward the medicine shop to get Eun-soo, worried that she’d be kidnapped in his absence. Arriving at the medicine shop, he saw her sitting on a step in front of the shop, happily waving to him. Greatly relieved, he looked around to see if he’d been followed or if an attack was imminent. Then he looked back at Eun-soo who saw his concern and mouthed, “What? What?” He went over and held out his hand to help her up, smiling to reassure her as they walked away together.

Following up on the message she’d received from the envoy, the Queen decided how she could meet with him secretly to receive her mother’s confidential message. The King had decided to meet with Ki Chul, and while the Queen helped him get dressed for the meeting, she told him she had arranged to visit Bojae Temple. She wished to go there to pray for the his and the child’s safety. He asked if he should join her there after finishing his business, but she told him that she’d go alone, that he had other affairs to take care of. He started to hug her, but Lady Choi was there, although she was trying mightily to be invisible. As a result he only gazed lovingly at his Queen and then left.

Since Ki Chul was under house arrest, the King came to his mansion. The Prince of the Court, wearing a heavy robe over his other clothes for warmth and not looking well, courteously greeted him with, “It’s an honor to have you come all this way to my humble place.” The King replied that he had heard Ki Chul was ill and inquired if he was all right, but he immediately shrugged off the heavy robe while saying it was only a rumor. He told the King he was fine and only expressed surprise that the King had risked coming there in person, since hundreds of private soldiers guarded his house. The King told him that they both had something to give and take with each other.

Ki Chul asked, “Is there something you want from me?”

“The Yuan seal. Is it with you, Prince of the Court? I heard that the royal decree appointing my uncle as my representative was stamped with that seal. And you were the one who brought that scroll.” Ki Chul chuckled in discomfort, replying that he really couldn’t confirm or deny that. The King asked, “Will you give it to me?”

“If I give it to you, what will I gain?”

“Would setting your feet loose do? I heard there’s a place you direly wanted to go. However, being locked up like this wouldn’t…” But Ki Chul was so excited by the King’s proposal that he interrupted to say he’d give him the seal. He called for Yang-sa to bring it. The King gave a short laugh to see how easily the other man gave the seal up.

But Ki Chul told him, “Your Majesty, please don’t laugh at me. I’ve always had whatever I wanted. If I had wanted to, I could have become king too. Building the Ki dynasty wouldn’t be that hard.” The King agreed that was so. Ki Chul continued, “However, always, there’s been a dark hole in my heart that wouldn’t fill up. And then I met that person from heaven. There’s another world out there. I don’t care if it’s heaven or hell, I must go.”

“If you get to go? Do you think that hole in your heart will fill up?”

Looking both eager and desperately hopeful, Ki Chul replied, “Won’t it?”

Even while the two men were still meeting, Ja-won had gone to the Prince with the news that the King had gone to Ki Chul’s house. The Prince correctly inferred that the King wanted the seal, and that Ki Chul would give it to him. To him, Ki Chul was half-mad over the High Doctor and the possibility of going through the portal to heaven; he didn’t care about the seal. The Prince gave a long-suffering sigh and told Ja-won that people always wanted too much from him. He would have been happy to live a simple life reading books, but others wouldn’t leave him alone. Because people kept pushing him, he was being forced to go farther than he would have preferred. He chuckled at the thought, having decided that he needed to hurry things along.

The Queen insisted that only a small group accompany her to the temple. She entered it and began to pray, and Lady Choi left her there to instruct the maiden warriors to prevent anyone else from entering. Then Lady Choi got caught up in her own enthusiasm about the coming royal birth. She rapturously speculated to another attendant about the baby, whether it would be a girl or boy, and how it would be either pretty or handsome because the parents looked so attractive. But while Lady Choi was out of the Queen’s sight, the Queen quickly went into a side room and out another entrance. She had been told to go to a small building nearby, so she went there and entered a dimly lit space. She called out for the envoy, but no one answered. Suddenly the door was shut behind her and she found herself locked in the small, dark room, with only a couch and a small side table. There was a full teapot and cup on the table, but that was all there was in terms of food or drink. She tried the door and called out, but there was no response. She was alone and frightened.

Young and Eun-soo continued their journey, now crossing over a rock fall with a small stream running though it. The footing was difficult, and Eun-soo quickly grew tired. They came to a break in the rocks, a small ravine with a tree growing beside the stream. Young asked her to stay there while he backtracked to search for the three archers he knew were following them. She stood up, looking around, and her head brushed a branch of the tree, dislodging a small ornament from the top of her head. It was a small bell with a tie that fastened part of her hair back from her forehead, and it dropped to the ground and rolled into a small crack under some rocks. Not wanting to lose it, she removed one of the rocks and reached into the space where the ball had disappeared. She not only found the bell, but her fingers touched another object as well. Pulling out first one and then the other, she saw that the second object was a small, very dirty plastic container that looked like a film cannister. She went to a nearby rock and sat down to examine it. Seeing something inside, she removed the cap to take out two pieces of yellowed paper. They had been folded and then rolled around the inside of the cylinder-shaped container. She carefully unfolded them, finding that the papers were the same size as those from her notebook and had been hole-punched in the same way. She began reading.

Meanwhile, as Young backtracked along their path, he was in the sights of one of the three archers he’d seen in the previous village. With bow drawn and arrow notched, the archer was ready to shoot when Young suddenly disappeared from his sight. After a few seconds the archer turned, only to encounter a vicious slash from Young’s sword. Knowing he couldn't show mercy to these men, he went after the other two men in the group, killing them as well.

He returned to Eun-soo as she hid the small film cannister by her side. Seeing her very troubled expression, he asked, “Imja, what’s wrong? What happened? Did someone come by?” She told him no, but he asked her why she looked so pale. He knelt in front of her and asked, “Are you feeling ill?”

She had no idea how to describe what she’d found. Instead, she asked him, “Just…please hug me.” He sat down beside her and put his arm around her, pulling her close. He asked again, very tenderly, what had happened. Totally bereft of explanations, she leaned against Young’s chest for comfort as he held her. For his part, he trusted that she’d tell him what was wrong when she was ready, and he continued to hold her close.

She looked over his shoulder, back at the tree and the small crevice at the bottom of the rocks. Based on what she had just read, she had a vision of herself at what must have been some other time. In the vision she reached out to a low branch on a small tree, thoughtfully fingering it. Then she kissed the cannister for luck and placed it inside the nearby crevice. Her mind replayed the message. It started, “ _I guess you, Eun-soo, will be the one to read this. If you read it, that means you’re with him right now. I remember all the moments of that day. His sincere eyes looking at me. His warm chest."_


	39. Episode 20, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young and Eun-soo decide to return to the palace. The King desperately searches for the Queen.

**Gae Kyeong and the Road to Heaven’s Portal**

As Young held her in his arms, Eun-soo remembered the rest of the message written on the yellowed notebook pages:

_“The same paths I walked on with that person, I’m walking on them again. Yes, I remember this place and every moment of that day. Will you discover it 100 years later? Though I can’t believe in such a miracle, my hope still lingers along with my regrets. I’ve thought about it over and over. That day, if we had returned to the palace, what would have happened? Would the Queen be alive and the King still on his throne? And… could I have been spared from watching that person’s heart dying, filled with guilt, that great heart trying to embrace everything? If only I could return to that day again. If only I could hold him again and see his smiling eyes, even if just for a day. Don’t run away like me, Eun Soo, even if you have to face death.”_

Young asked her again to tell him what was wrong. But all she could do was slowly shake her head back and forth. He urged her, “Tell me, so I can know how to help.”

She finally began to tell him, “By chance, if something were to happen to our King and Queen…”

“What do you mean?”

“During your absence, if something were to happen to them, would you be all right?”

Alarmed, he put both hands on her shoulders and asked, “What did you hear? From who?”

She placed her hands on either side of his face, holding it close to hers, and asked earnestly, “What should we do?” She finally told him that what she was going to do was to return to the King and Queen. She got up and started walking back through the rock fall.

Confused and worried by this abrupt change in her, he stopped her, asking, “Did you forget so soon? What’s wrong with your head when you’re a doctor? We’re fleeing right now and headed toward heaven’s door. You’ll be in danger if we go back to court!” She replied that they could think about that as they went and turned to continue walking. But that wasn’t good enough for him. He stopped her again, looked at her intently and insisted, “Explain in a way I can understand...Go ahead.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she took out the film cannister and handed it to him. He looked at it and briefly held it up to the light, seeing that there was paper folded up inside. He speculated, “Is this like that book of yours?” In response to her nod, he asked, “What does it say?”

“If we return to the palace right now, we could possibly save the Queen.” He started to ask where she found it, but she interrupted with, “Under the rocks.” He only stared at her. She asked, “You don’t believe me?”

And then he said something that reaffirmed why she loved him. “I do, since it’s Imja saying it.” He had faith in her, even when anyone else would think it absurd. He added, “First, let’s go to the nearest village and find out if there’s any news of the palace. And find a way to lose those bounty hunters who are after us. We’ll decide after that.”

While he was speaking, she started coughing, and he was immediately concerned about her health; there were too many unknowns about the poison in her system. He helped her sit on a rock to rest and then bent down to the nearby stream, cupping his hand to gather a little water. He held his hand to her mouth so she could sip it, then knelt in front of her to ask, “Do you have a fever?” While he gazed at her, she put her hand to his forehead and then to her own for comparison, then shook her head. No fever yet. Relieved, he smiled slightly, took her by the hand and led the way through the rest of the rock fall.

After discovering the Queen’s disappearance from the temple where she’d gone to pray, Lady Choi quickly sent word to the Woodalchi, who informed the King and began combing the temple grounds and the royal palace. The room in which she was trapped was very small compared to the large temple complex and was easily overlooked. The Queen was also unconscious, having imbibed drugged water from the teapot next to the bed.

They found no trace of her. The royal army was soon engaged in searching the entire city. Frantic, the King wanted to join the search himself, but Choon-sik reminded him that he needed to stay at the palace to coordinate the search and give orders. He told Choon-sik to ask the Suribang for help. In his anxiety the King also told the Vice-General that the Queen was frail-bodied and would be especially affected by the current cold weather. Choon-sik told him that he personally would join the search for the Queen. The King also asked for any word of the General, but there was none. In tortured self-recrimination the King cried, “I’m being punished! I always disregarded Choi Young’s heart and I am getting punished for it. This is how he felt when he pleaded with me to save the doctor. He must have been in agony like this.” Nearly in tears, his voice trembling, he admitted, “That…I finally realize now.”

Just then Lady Choi was announced and came to kneel at the anxious King’s feet, telling him she failed to safeguard the Queen and deserved worse than death. But the King only wanted more information about what had happened. She presented him with the letter requesting a secret meeting with the Queen, which she had found in a search of the Queen’s sleeping chamber. She had questioned the maid who had delivered it to the Queen and had verified that the seal on the letter was indeed that of the Yuan envoy. The King immediately ordered Choon-sik to go search the envoy’s quarters and bring him to the palace, which he did. The Woodalchi also took the envoy’s seal and a few sheets of paper from his desk as evidence. The soldiers also searched Prince Hyung’s quarters, which were in the same hall as the envoy, but otherwise left him alone.

Meanwhile, Young and Eun-soo had reached a village and he began asking people there for news from the capital. She hung back so they wouldn’t be seen to be together, while words from the bottled message kept running through her mind, _“Don’t flee like me, Eun-soo, even if that is to become your last day…”_

Finally he returned to tell her that there was no news from the capital, except that war seemed likely, so they should keep going to the portal. She told him, “If I said, ‘I’ll go find the heaven door by myself, and you just go to the palace,’ you wouldn’t go, would you?” He bluntly told her he wouldn’t even consider them words. She added, “And if I said, ‘Let’s go back together, since there’s still time’…” He interrupted impatiently to ask her why she kept saying the same things over and over, but she insisted, “What does it take for me to get you to return?! Just get angry? Ok, I’ll do that!”

He tried to ignore her, knowing that a death sentence waited for her in Gae Kyeong, but she wasn’t having it. She cried, “Why are you so stubborn? Is sending me away so urgent?!”

Stunned by her question, he asked, “ _What?_ ”

Not understanding why he wanted to push on, she cried, “But you always say that, that you’ll make sure to send me back. Why do you want me to leave so much?”

He couldn’t believe his ears; how could she think that he wanted to send her away? But she was on a roll, scolding him about saying that he couldn’t return to the King’s service because he was hesitant to use his sword. How did he think that made her feel? It would be her fault that he was that way. Instead, she needed him to protect both her heart and her life.

He began to protest, but she only huffed in exasperation and turned slightly away, almost talking to herself, “Why is this happening to me? Finally I found someone I really love. But he gets locked up in jail and quits his job for me.” She faced him and insisted, “Let’s go back, I said!”

Suddenly he interrupted her with, “ **Don’t move**.” She knew that tone of voice and froze. A swordsman rushed them from the side, but Young easily dropped him to the ground with a slash to his shoulder, the man crying out as he fell. Seeing that the man wouldn’t be any kind of a threat now, he kicked the man’s sword aside and told Eun-soo in a voice that brooked no disagreement, “Don’t even think about going anywhere. Stay here.”

Their attacker slowly sat up, holding his shoulder and groaning in agony. She took one look at him and realized he was very young. She thought Young should have gone easier on him given his youth, muttering, “If you’re going to slash someone then look at their face first.” Then she silently reprimanded herself, realizing that Young _had_ gone easier on the young man, and that was why he was alive. She gathered up her bag and walked over to the young man to dress his wound, talking as she began working, “Seeing how that person just left you be, I guess you weren’t someone who’d harm me.” As he cringed away from her, still moaning, she told him to roll up his sleeve.

After disabling the young attacker and telling Eun-soo to stay put, Young left her at a dead run, trying to put some distance between them. He couldn’t afford to worry about her while he fought yet another man who had been following them. He stopped at a bridge with a stone wall on either side, waiting for the man who he’d glimpsed from time to time during their journey. Unlike the youngster he had just dealt with, this man had moved swiftly and stealthily and was likely a skilled assassin. Young called out, “Let’s do it here, where she can’t see us.”

Suddenly, leaping onto the bridge and facing Young, was the bearded envoy’s man with sword in hand, still wearing the same dark bamboo hat he’d worn when Dae-man first saw him. Reluctant to kill yet again, Young tried to dissuade him, saying, “You can’t just go back? I don’t want to fight.” His opponent answered by running toward him, then leaping up with one foot against the wall in order to come down onto Young with his sword. It was the same technique Young had used when saving the Queen during Il-shin’s revolt. The assassin continued with furious slashes that drove Young backward, defending himself. Then they both whirled and used the wall-leveraging technique again to cut at each other. This time Young received a shallow cut to his shoulder. After a second’s pause the assassin came at him yet again with blows just as powerful as before. Then they both whirled around again, this time leaping to the top of the walls on opposite sides. Their fighting techniques were almost mirror images, both of them equally deadly. They slowly stepped parallel to each other on the walls, taking a brief breather. Young said, “You seem like you have killed as many as I have, and aren’t you tired of it?” Then, almost to himself he muttered, “Tired of killing over and over.”

Just then the assassin leaped toward him and Young did the same, both trading blows while descending to the ground. But Young also kicked out as he came down, causing the assassin to lose his balance and fall when he landed, dropping his sword. The other man quickly leapt to his feet, but by then Young already had his own sword pressed against the assassin’s neck. Young asked him, “Can’t you just leave?” And Young removed the sword from his neck. Still disarmed, the assassin looked Young in the eye, acknowledging that Young had defeated him. Then he turned and left, disappearing as quickly as he had come. Young took a few breaths as he sheathed his sword, relieved not to have had to kill yet another man; he was so weary of it. Then he wondered if he’d made a mistake to let the other man live. If he saw that man again, he would kill him.

He returned to find Eun-soo sitting on the ground with her hands against her face. The young man who she had tended had soon left after having his shoulder bandaged. She had heard the sword clashes from the bridge and was anxious for Young. As he came up to her, she stood up and quickly looked him over for injuries, spying the blood on his shoulder. She worriedly scolded him, “You’re coming back hurt again!”

But as she began to lean down to pick up her bag of medical supplies, he grabbed her wrist, telling her, “Until I return to the palace, you intend to be angry?”

“When I worry, I get angry.” He nodded, totally understanding; he’d been known to do the same thing. In a hopeful voice she asked, “So we’re going back?”

“I’ll go and verify if the King and Queen are safe.” He paused, then added, “I know what you’re thinking right now, but I can’t send you alone to the portal.”

She smiled and replied, “Then, we’ll go back together.”

He decided she needed to know what his aunt had told him. “The Yuan envoy isn’t trying to take you to Yuan. He wants to execute you publicly.”

Shocked, she paused for a moment before saying, “I...see.” He asked if she still wanted to go back with him. Remembering the message that said she needed to do it even if it was her last day, she smiled and nodded.

He tried to reassure her, “Imja…I won’t just sit and watch you get captured.”

Still smiling, she told him she knew that, then turned to address his injury, saying, “Let me see.” As she worked, he continued to mull over the huge risk she was taking by returning to Gae Kyeong.

The Woodalchi escorted the Yuan envoy to the King for questioning. Slapping the secret letter down on the table in front of the envoy, the King said, “Look at it.” The envoy read the letter silently, noting his seal at the bottom. He told the King that, although it was his stamp, it wasn’t his writing. The King angrily accused him of throwing out the secret meeting as bait in order to kidnap the Queen and demanded to know where she had been taken. In his quiet and deliberate manner, the envoy replied that the Queen was a Yuan princess, and therefore he would never commit such a deed.

But the King slammed his fist on the table and shouted, “Right away! I must see her! Tell me where she is!” When the envoy didn’t answer, the King ordered his men to take him to prison and torture him if necessary for the information. Do-chi, however, reminded the King that the envoy was a Dansa officer, empowered to make decisions on behalf of the emperor. Imprisoning or torturing him would be a declaration of war. Eventually the King calmed down enough that he ordered the envoy to be confined to his quarters, where he could be called back for questioning at any time.

When the Dansa Officer returned, Prince Hyung greeted him, saying that he had heard that the envoy had gone to the palace, that he’d heard something about the Queen being kidnapped, and that the King must be devastated. The envoy, a perceptive man who by then knew the Prince for what he was, got right to the point. “Did you use my stamp? Did you use my stamp and write a fake letter to call the Queen out?” Smiling, the Prince stood and denied it, protesting that there was no reason for him to commit such a deed. The King wouldn’t be able to meet the envoy’s conditions anyway.

In her small prison the Queen coughed and weakly pushed herself up to a sitting position, feeling terrible. She tried to walk to the door but fell, crawling the rest of the way. Some light came into the room from the screened door and side windows, but no one responded to her feeble cry for help. She was very thirsty and drank from the teapot, then slept again.

Meanwhile, her husband the King was obsessed with finding her and began to worry that she’d already been taken out of the capital city. But Lady Choi and Choon-sik assured him that, along with the thorough search, all exits from the city had been blocked. But the King still ordered the provincial armies to participate in the search and allies to be notified. He wanted every home searched. Then he began to wonder if it was already too late. If the envoy hadn’t sent the letter, it was clear who did. In his heart he had known from the start that only one man had the opportunity and will to commit such a deed. He summoned Prince Hyung to the palace.

While the search for the Queen continued, Ki Chul ignored it; she had always been disposable in his eyes. He was still obsessed with finding the High Doctor but not having much luck. Yang-sa told him the name of the village where the couple had last been spotted, but there had been no other word since then. And what’s more, that village wasn’t on the way to the portal. Ki Chul wondered what had happened. Hwa-su-in ventured that it hadn’t been a good idea to instruct the reward seekers to kill Choi Young. How many men would actually be able to kill him? Instead, they should have just asked for information about them so that she and Eum-ja could track the couple down and settle it. His minions ventured that there was only one place the couple could go if she really was from heaven. They certainly wouldn’t be returning to Gae Kyeong, with the envoy waiting to execute her. If the heaven door was going to open, that’s where they’d flee. But then Ki Chul found himself wondering where they’d go if it was all a lie. In that case, opined Hwa-su-in, “They have fooled us all.”

That night Young and Eun-soo returned to the Suribang house in the capital city. The Manbo sister ran out, very worried that they had returned, telling them, “Oh no, you have gone mad! What do you think you’re doing? There’s mayhem in and out of the palace!” She proceeded to tell them about the Queen’s disappearance the previous day and how it seemed that every soldier in Goryeo was searching for her. Young and Eun-soo simply looked at each other, the message's warning confirmed. Just then, the Suribang swordsman came to tell them that Prince Hyung had been summoned to the palace, even though it was very late at night.

When the Woodalchi brought Prince Hyung before the King, the King dismissed all his guards. He wanted to talk with the Prince alone. Choon-sik protested, since the Prince was known to use poison, but the King insisted. Once everyone else had left the room, the King approached his uncle, asking him to return the Queen. Feigning ignorance, the Prince asked what the King meant, but the King simply reiterated, “You have her. Please return her to me.”

The Prince expressed shock that the King would say something so grave; it was true he’d led a wicked life, but how would he dare to do that to the Queen? “It’s not so, my King.”

But the King only asked, “What can I do for you that will do? That person is very frail right now. She shouldn’t receive any shock and her diet is important too.” The King urged him again to tell him what he needed to do to regain his Queen. The King couldn’t help but show his deep sadness, his eyes filling with tears. And the Prince couldn’t help but smile slightly to see the King crumbling in anguish.

Unable to totally avoid gloating, Prince Hyung told him that he didn’t know who had done such a deed, but if someone were to have done it…he wouldn’t bother with a separate deal. He wouldn’t want it known that it was him who harmed the Queen, and also once word reached Yuan, it would insist on removing the King who failed to protect her.

Ignoring Prince Hyung’s pretense, the King asked, “Are you saying you won’t let her live?” His uncle told him he was only making speculations. Trying desperately to make a deal with the Prince, the King turned asked, “Is it the throne you need? Then take it. Just let…this Goryeo remain.” Still unmoved, Prince responded that Goryeo would still be there, just the name would change, whether it be a Goryeo or Yuan. He didn’t see any difference between the two. Even as he talked, the King couldn’t believe what he was doing. He was offering to hand over the throne to such a person, that he was begging. He asked the Prince one more time what he needed to do in order for him to let the Queen live. But the Prince stayed silent.

While the King and his uncle talked, soldiers continued searching the capital. Young met with the other Suribang, knowing immediately it had to be Prince Hyung’s doing. But no one had seen the Prince move except when summoned by the King. Then he asked who had come to see the Prince; there had to be one or more henchmen involved. Toward the end of their meeting, Lady Choi appeared, and she and Young went outside to talk privately. She asked why they had returned. Young told her that Eun-soo insisted the palace was in danger. He asked about the King and she told him he should go see him. When her nephew said he couldn’t go, Lady Choi told him that Prince Hyung’s main weapon was to play with people’s hearts.

Young and his aunt continued to plan their next steps with Eun-soo joining them. She volunteered to go meet with Prince Hyung, wanting to try something in the movies she’d seen that might reveal where the Queen was. Young protested, “You can’t! There you go again. The opponent is Prince Hyung!”

But she insisted, “I’m telling you, I know that person! I minored in psychology!”

They continued arguing until Lady Choi interrupted by crying, “Her Highness the Queen…She’s pregnant.” That news stopped their bickering in its tracks. Eun-soo thought to herself that it was too early for them to have a child, at least in the history books she had read. Aloud, she told Young to go and meet the King; his heart would be crumbling. She would go see the Prince. If Young trusted her like he had said he did, he should trust her now. Giving a big sigh of resignation, Young finally agreed.

In the dark, the Queen was growing weaker. She couldn’t even lift the iron teapot anymore.


	40. Episode 20, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young assumes leadership of the search for the Queen. The King responds to the Yuan envoy's demands.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Choi Young hurried to the palace and was met by Dae-man and Choon-sik, who were overjoyed at seeing their Daejang. Young asked about the King and was told he was in the Queen’s chambers. Going there, he announced himself and went in. He found the King sitting at a table holding the blue lace veil worn by the Queen when they first met in Yuan, handling it reverently.

Then, standing before the King, Young said, “The man who left Your Majesty’s side has returned with a worried heart.” The King neither looked up nor answered. Young continued, “May I ask you one thing? I heard you met Prince Hyung. What did he say?” When the King still didn’t look up or speak, Young prompted, “Your Majesty?”

Looking away, the King told him, “You shouldn’t have come. You should have gone when I sent you. Why did you return to see me in this miserable state?”

Young bent down in front of the King and called to him again. “Your Majesty, please look at me.”

The King only said that he didn’t think he could save the Queen. “There isn’t any way. I was thinking of killing him, too, but I couldn’t do it. I am sitting here at my wit’s end. While I’m doing this, my Queen is already…” He stumbled to a halt.

Young yanked the table away to interrupt the King’s dejected musings. The veil fell to the floor and the King dropped to his knees, carefully picking it up again. Shocked to see the King so distraught, Young told him, “Get up, my Lord, please!” When the King didn’t move, Young crouched down, took the King by the shoulders and literally pulled him up again into his chair. Young stayed below the King’s head, looking up to him and saying, “My King. You met Prince Hyung and talked about what? Please tell me. I must know what’s in his mind.”

For the first time the King looked at Young. “That man denied everything.” Young asked if the Prince wanted something from him. The King answered, “No, he didn’t even care about making a deal. He just smiled. I said I would give him my throne and even hand him my nation. I pleaded with him. I begged him.” Tears appeared again in the King’s eyes as he said, “Did you hear me? I gave up my country.”

Young said softly but earnestly, “High Doctor said this. What that man wants is to see Your Majesty’s heart crumble. Your Majesty’s heart…has it crumbled? Then I have no reason to be here.” Young’s words helped the King come back to himself. He asked Young what he needed.  
Again Young reminded him that he was the King by saying, “I need your order.”

“My Queen. Please find her and bring her to me.” Young literally jumped to his feet and told him he received his order. The King added, “General, for returning like this…” But Young stopped him, saying that he hadn’t returned yet. He had only come because he was asked. He bowed his head to the King and left to search for the Queen.

The King was still very upset, but a few drops of hope had fallen onto his heart. His General and good friend had returned and was searching for the Queen. If anyone could find her, it was Young.

Accompanied by a few Woodalchi, Young made some orders of his own, telling them to let the Suribang know to get ready and to verify that their young warriors were on standby. He told them that the bastard didn’t even intend to keep the Queen alive. Then they waited for Eun-soo to finish her meeting with the Prince.

Eun-soo entered Prince Hyung’s quarters and sat at a small table. The Prince asked if she was aware that the following day was her execution day. Unperturbed, she told him, “I heard. Come and sit.” Offended to be ordered about, he told her that she still had the same disrespectful attitude. She responded, “Since I came from heaven, to my eyes it’s the same, whether royalty or a beggar. Everyone is equal in a democracy.”

He sat down and asked if she’d come for the antidote. Ignoring his question, she asked instead, “Do you remember that I knew about the trap you set for Choi Young?” He remembered. She continued, “This time, I know where the Queen is.” He chuckled skeptically. She removed the yellowed pages from the film cannister and unfolded them. Holding the pages up, she asked, “Want me to read it to you? This heaven writing?”

Grinning and being entertained by what he saw as the latest trick of hers, he told her, “No matter how I look at it, I want you. We really could have been a great pair.”

She continued, “Last time the writing in the notebook was about Choi Young. This time it’s about you.” She pretended to read from the sheets, “The bright man went too far. He kidnapped the Queen, even when she was pregnant.” Her pregnancy was news to him, and the smile left his face. She went on, “The location where the Queen was locked in is as follows…” She stopped reading and looked up at him, then folded the sheets again and put them back in the cannister.

Intrigued, he grabbed at the cannister, but she pulled it back, keeping it beyond his reach. Frowning, he asked, “A letter was sent to you from heaven?” She held up the cannister, telling him it was a plastic film tube that had been sent to her with the message inside. He asked why she stopped reading, and she told him she hoped to exchange the information for the antidote. Trying for the upper hand, he sneered, “You couldn’t possibly think that I believe your words.”

Looking confident, she told him, “Then I have no choice but to go to the palace now and let them know where the Queen is confined.”  
The Prince replied that she would be executed soon. Unfazed, she told him, “I’m going to save the Queen so they won’t kill me. They’ll forgive me. But you’ll be in trouble. Didn’t she see your face when you kidnapped her?”

He tried for a sneer that didn’t succeed. She asked if he had the antidote to the poison but added that she’d heard this poison has no antidote. Alternatively, would he give her the remaining pages in her notebook? She scoffed, “What do you actually have? Only a name that is royalty?”

Angered at last, he muttered that he’d tried to be patient and go easy on her, a treacherous thing… But she interrupted him, “Watch your mouth! This morning…I’ve just decided not to fear death anymore.” He asked if she’d stay with him if he gave her the antidote. She held out her hand for it, but he told her he’d need her word. She paused as if considering his offer, then smiled and told him, “No.”

She turned to leave. As she left he called out, “Your fever will start soon. And then it will be too late.”

She called over her shoulder as she walked away, “I know.”

As she returned to the palace, Young reached out from behind a column and pulled her close. She smiled and held up two fingers in a “V” sign. But Young didn’t smile right away. He breathed a big sigh of relief that she was safe and reached out to stroke her hair. They finally smiled at each other.

Young and Eun-soo continued to implement their plan. An aide to Prince Hyung was puzzled by the fact that the soldiers were being withdrawn from the search and reported that to the Prince. Worried that what the High Doctor said might be true, the Prince asked his attendant how the Queen was doing. His aide reported that she continued to weaken and couldn’t last much longer. The Prince told him to end it, and the attendant left to finish off the queen. However, the young Suribang warriors were keeping a watch on anyone who left the Prince’s quarters. They followed the attendant while sending word back to Young.

Both the Yuan envoy and the King prepared for their final meeting. Poker-faced as usual, the envoy dressed in his full regalia trimmed in gold. As a final touch his aide handed him two small round stones. He constantly rotated the stones in his hand as he turned to leave for the meeting to keep himself calm. On the other hand, the King had been buoyed by his General’s return. Holding her blue lace veil close to him and remembering some of their precious moments together, he told Do-chi that he had decided to believe that the Queen would be found alive. And, in thinking about this upcoming meeting, he would remain firm. He did not ever want his offspring to face humiliation by Yuan. Reluctantly putting down the Queen's veil, he left for the meeting.

Once there, the King told the envoy to begin. But before he could start, Ki Chul abruptly entered, greeted the King and said he’d come to attend this important meeting. As he seated himself at the table, he wondered aloud why the envoy had not called on him as the brother of the Empress. The envoy didn’t respond. The King allowed him to stay, knowing that Ki Chul was actually an ally in this case. He would oppose executing the High Doctor. The envoy began by saying there were two requests they had discussed and asked if the King had them ready. The King went on from there, reiterating that he was supposed to start using the Yuan seal again and have the High Doctor executed. Then the envoy would speak to the Yuan emperor about allowing Goryeo to continue as a nation for a bit longer. The envoy agreed that was essentially correct. Holding his temper, the King motioned for the Yuan seal to be brought to the table and given to the envoy. The King told him, “I used it well until now and am returning it. This nation no longer needs it. Now for that wily thing the Dansa Officer speaks of.” The King turned as the High Doctor entered the room and stood beside the King. Ki Chul almost jumped out of his chair to see her right there in front of him. Addressing the envoy, the King said, “This person is this nation’s High Doctor. She once saved my Queen’s life, the one who is also a Yuan princess. She also saved my General, and yesterday, she even saved my mind. Does she appear as a wily thing to you? The envoy remained silent for a moment.

While the King’s meeting was taking place, Prince Hyung’s attendant went to the place where they were keeping the Queen. She was laying on the small daybed but pushed herself up when she heard him enter. She was groggy from the drugs but still observed him pouring something into the teapot. She asked him what he was putting in the water and whose orders he was following. She’d seen him in the palace and said she would pay him many times over what he was receiving. He didn’t answer her directly, but instead relayed a message from his master: “If the King’s mind were to crumble first, then I was going to save the Queen. However, time is running out and I have no other choice.”

He began to move toward her with a cup filled with what he had poured into the teapot, but she desperately held out a small knife, telling him, “More so than anything else, I cannot leave my King.” She could hardly hold the knife up, but still said, “If you come near me, I will kill you.” He easily swept the knife out of her grasp then sat down beside her, telling her to just drink from the cup and she could leave peacefully. Panting with fear and desperation, she tried to get away from him, but in her weakened state she could barely move. He grabbed her chin and turned it toward him, holding the cup up to her lips.

Just then the door was thrown open and Young strode rapidly into the room. He grabbed the attendant, lifting him bodily off the bed, and threw him across the room away from the Queen. He kneeled in front of the Queen and asked her if she was all right, but she promptly fainted, falling to one side. Her fall was broken by Young’s hand, who gently lowered her head to the bed. The attendant had gotten up and started toward Young with a knife, but Dol-bae stopped him and threw him to the floor once again. Even as Dol-bae asked him who he served, the attendant used the knife to stab himself, much to the Woodalchi’s frustration. Concerned only for the Queen, Young picked her up into his arms and rushed with her to the palace.

Not yet knowing that his Queen had just been rescued, the King was still meeting with the envoy and his advisors. The envoy addressed Eun-soo, who was standing next to the King. He asked her if it was true that she came from the heaven. To everyone’s surprise the King answered for her, “She didn’t. You don’t believe in that story, do you? Such rumors spread because of her great skills.”

Shocked to his core, Ki Chul objected, “What are you talking about, Your Majesty? Wait! You can’t say that.”

But the King then asked her, “High Doctor, are you from the heaven world, to be precise?”

She told the assembled group that she hadn’t exactly come from heaven. Seeing Ki Chul’s shocked expression, she mouthed the words, “I’m sorry” to him, but he turned away.

The envoy began to accuse her of spreading those rumors, but the King interrupted him, saying, “I did that. I thought it would be useful in strengthening my position.”

Unmoved by these revelations, the envoy asked, “You insist on sending out your people to battle?”

“If I am so afraid of your threats that I allow my guiltless citizen to be put to death, what would you demand next time? We can’t keep wavering, so I made a decision. It stops here. I won’t hear any more of it.”

Resigned, the envoy said only, “I understand,” and rose from his chair to leave, bowing to the others. Passing by Eun-soo, he told her, “I will have to see you alone, soon.” Then he left the room. Ki Chul also rose to his feet and made for Eun-soo. But Choon-sik interrupted, telling the King that the Queen was there, in the palace, and that the High Doctor should come. The King rushed out of the room with the Woodalchi.

Eun-soo also started to go to the Queen, but Ki Chul blocked her way. He asked, “You weren’t from the heaven world?” She uncomfortably replied that it wasn’t the heaven world… but he interrupted to ask if everything she had said were lies. She started to answer, but the Woodalchi insisted that she was needed urgently. She ran out of the room, leaving Ki Chul to grow slowly into a rage.

Young had brought the Queen to her chambers, gave her over to the care of Lady Choi, and waited outside her chambers for the King and Eun-soo to arrive. Rushing there, the King pulled open the doors, but Lady Choi asked him to allow the High Doctor to see the Queen first. Eun-soo had just gotten there, and reluctantly the King allowed her to enter. Outside the Queen’s chambers, the King and Young looked at each other, knowing they could only wait. Not long after, Eun-soo came to the door and told the King that the Queen had regained consciousness and she was all right. But her face grew sad as she also told him that the Queen had lost the baby. Her kidnappers had been giving her some sort of drug, like a strong sedative, that was quite harmful. The King said not a word but went inside to his wife.

Once the King had gone in, tears filled Eun-soo’s eyes, as they did in the attendants’ and Woodalchis’ eyes as well. Losing an heir was a tragedy for the whole nation as well as for those who were personally close to the royal couple. As Eun-soo stood there, Young silently stepped in front of her, giving her a little privacy from the others, and reached back to take one of her hands in his to comfort her. He knew she was quite fond of the Queen. Eun-soo leaned her head against his broad back, letting her tears come.

The King slowly entered the Queen’s bedchamber. She was lying on her side, facing the wall, grieving silently. Wanting to comfort her but not sure how, he moved carefully, first sitting down on the bed and then slowly lay down behind her, embracing her and putting his face next to hers. After a few moments she turned over, put her arm around him and buried her face against his chest. She sobbed silently, bereft of that small life she had nurtured for so short a time. They held one another for a long time, comforting each other. No words were sufficient for either their love or their grief.

The next day found Young coming to Eun-soo’s quarters. He entered and leaned against the doorway, enjoying watching her as she tended to some medicines on her windowsill. When she turned to him, he said he’d heard that she’d denied coming from heaven in front of all the court. She told him it had been the King’s idea. She wondered why he was asking, and he told her that Ki Chul had made an official request to meet with her. She responded, “That’s a problem.” No doubt Ki Chul would be in a rage, thinking he’d been tricked. Young told her that now they had two choices. The first one was to flee for their lives to heaven’s door and wait for it to open. She said tartly, “Like last time, when all the assassins of the country attack us, and you fight and I run. Like that?”

He told her the second option was to strike first. They would eliminate the ones who might come after her, one at a time. She asked, “By eliminate, you mean kill?” He nodded matter-of-factly, naming Ki Chul and Prince Hyung, adding that it might also include the envoy from Yuan. She stared at him, reminded once again of their being from different worlds, and that he had no reservations about killing people who threatened her or the King. He went on to say that he would have to first give up his position as general so he wouldn’t be a source of trouble to the King. And he would need the King’s approval to leave his position. She took a big breath and told him, “Then I choose the third option. Until that day, I’ll hide in Goryeo’s safest place.” He asked where that was, but she would only say that she too would need a permission for that.

Sometime later, in Young’s room in the Woodalchi barracks, Young and Ahn Jae were drinking together, talking about what might happen with Yuan. Ahn Jae told him that Young should be the overall commander of the armies; the King had only appointed him as Commanding General in Young’s absence. And it wasn’t going to be just a skirmish but a full-scale war. Young agreed about the war and asked the other man what was on his mind. Ahn Jae asked, “I heard you intend to leave the court. All of your men are anxious.”

Young, a bit pleased that his men felt that way about him, gave a half grin and said, “Are they?” Ahn Jae asked if it was because of the woman. Young wondered aloud, “Is it?” He realized it hadn’t been entirely about Eun-soo.

Ahn Jae followed up by asking, “Or is your sword getting heavy for you too?” Brought up short by that, Young looked at him questioningly. Ahn Jae explained, “During the time of the Red Crescent Moon army, your teacher came by my home the night before he died. He talked through the night with my father and I was there, too. He kept saying that his sword had gotten heavier, that at times he couldn’t even raise it with two hands. Young’s eyes grew wide as Ahn Jae spoke, remembering his teacher’s dark, almost haunted, mood before they met with the King. Young picked up his sword and stared at it, the same sword that had become so heavy for his teacher. Ahn Jae said, “So I asked him, what does that mean?”

“So. What did he say?”

“That at last the end is here. So he needed to find a place to end.”

Incredulous, Young asked, “What?”

“That’s what he said. And the next day, he went into the palace and died. I felt so angry. Someone like him ending up like that…that it had to be by a king like that, of all things.” Remembering that fatal sword thrust, Young realized it explained why his teacher had not tried to avoid it but had actually stepped into it. His friend continued, “How many years is it for you? Since you started to hold the sword and kill people?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You were 16 years old, right? When you left home? So it must be 13 or 14 years. Just how many have you killed?” Young didn’t answer; there were so many. Ahn Jae left him with, “So I’m asking, is your sword getting heavy too?” After Ahn Jae left, Young held up his sword, contemplating it, drew the blade partially out, studied it briefly, and then, feeling disturbed, roughly shoved the blade back in the sheath. Ahn Jae’s perceptive question had hit home.

As Young pondered Ahn Jae’s story about his teacher and its implications for him, Ki Chul was also pondering, thinking about his next steps after hearing the High Doctor admit she hadn’t come from heaven. Determined to get revenge for being tricked by her and the King, he went to where Prince Hyung was staying. Seeing them, the Prince was unsure whether Ki Chul was there to kill him or partner with him, and nervously asked why he was there. Ki Chul asked him to return to his mansion, saying, “Let’s go and finish what we were going to do at the outset. They tried to fool us all. We’ll give them what they deserve.”

The next day, Young was returning to the Woodalchi barracks and heading toward his room when he found Dol-bae, Deok-man and another Woodalchi standing outside his door. Dol-bae said, “General, wait. About the new recruits.” Young told him that the Vice-General was handling that, but Dol-bae thought he should personally take a look. Impatient, Young again referred him to the Vice General, but Deok-man told him they had more questions. In particular there was a special recommended one from higher up. Assuming the recruit they were talking about came from a noble family, Young told them that family background was way down on the list of desirable criteria for a new recruit and so were recommendations from pompous officials. Skills and competence were number one. Still trying to give him some advance warning, they told him it had been an order from the King. Surprised, Young was told that the new recruit was waiting in his room. Irritated that someone would presume to enter his room without his permission, he threw open the doors and went in. But just inside the doors, he came to a sudden halt, finding it hard to believe his eyes.

As his men carefully closed the doors behind him, he stared at the new recruit. Dressed in Woodalchi leather armor and holding a sword, the recruit smiled and saluted, announcing, “New guard, Yoo Eun-soo. I’ve been appointed as a Woodalchi. I’m reporting for duty. Sir!”

Young closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again, seeing the same unbelievable sight in front of him. He said, “What is this?”

She replied joyfully, “Here. The safest place in Goryeo. I’m going to hide here. Right next to you. I even got the King’s permission, too. And look, I got my own sword!” She wiggled it slightly in her hands, adding, “It’s mine!” Young continued to stand there with a serious expression on his face, but inwardly he was running through all the implications of her being there. Not seeing any welcome in his expression, she stopped awkwardly and told him, “Uh, it seems there isn’t a women’s dorm here in the Woodalchi barracks. So I plan to just stay here for now. If you could just put a cot there…” Getting more anxious by the second, she added, “If that’s too much to ask, I can sleep well with two chairs bunched together too.”

Finally Young moved. He turned around and opened the doors outward, dislodging Dae-man and Dol-bae, who had been listening with all their might through the door, with Deok-man and the another Woodalchi also straining to hear over the other men’s shoulders. As Young stared them down, they tried to look nonchalant as they strolled away down the hall. Then he shut the doors and turned again to stare at Eun-soo. He slowly walked toward her, still with that serious expression.

She told him, “I can work enough for the cost of my food. I can do checkups for the men and treatments.” As she talked, she nervously backed up as he approached her.

He asked, “So. You want to stay here with me?”

She was now up against a window with Young nearing her. She answered while looking up at him, “Since this is Daejang’s room and you’re the Daejang.”

“Since I’m the Daejang? Here?” He leaned over her, still staring, his face just inches from hers.

She looked at him a little apprehensively, unsure what he was thinking about her presence there. Then she nodded, “Here…We won’t run away.” Young continued to gaze at her, and his serious expression began to change, his lips slowly curving into a smile.


	41. Episode 21, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eun-soo finds the safest place in Goryeo to hide from Ki Chul, and her relationship with Choi Young deepens. The Royal Medical Office is attacked. Prince Hyung is captured and imprisoned.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Eun-soo had gotten the permission of the King to become a Woodalchi so she could stay in the their barracks, the safest place in Goryeo, and had waited for Young in his room to tell him. Once he’d arrived and seen her in stunned silence, he chased other Woodalchi away from listening at the door. His men paced and chuckled together in the barracks, speculating on what was happening in their General´s room between the two. Dol-bae, ever protective of the General, scattered the group, telling them to tend to their work, but after they left, he smiled as well.

Once Young had absorbed the shock of seeing her in a Woodalchi uniform, he warmed with the thought of their being together. But it also meant something more to him. He took her by the hand, led her to a bench and pulled up a stool to sit in front of her, taking her sword and setting it aside. Looking at her with that intent stare of his, he asked, “Why?”

“About what?”

“The one who says she will soon return through the heaven door comes into my room and says she’ll stay with me. Why?”

Confronted so directly, she hedged, “That..uh...According to the King, the safest place is here.”

Young asked skeptically, “The _King_ said?” She admitted that she had asked the King for permission. Pausing for a moment, Young took a breath and let it out, then said, “It was impossible for me to understand you ever since we met. Why you smile, and why you get angry…”

Surprised, Eun-soo pointed to herself, saying, “Me?”

Young went on, “Then I finally came to understand. That you always worry about me. You cried and smiled because of me. You ran away because of me. And this time, wanting to return was for me as well…right? You were worried about me because I was always glancing toward the palace.” He paused for an answer and she nodded. He asked, “Even if your life is at risk?”

In a small voice she answered, “But I didn’t die.”

He reached his hands out and took her much smaller hands in his, moving closer to her while gazing into her eyes. Summoning his own courage, he said, “This is what we’ll do. First, we’ll find the antidote. Then, if your poison can be cured without having to return to heaven, I will ask you this…‘Will you stay?’” Her eyes grew wide as she realized he was proposing to her. He continued, “I know your family waits for you in heaven, I’m aware of that. But I’ll still ask you to stay with me and be protected by me, forever.’”

Touched beyond measure, her eyes glistened as she said, “Protecting me won’t be easy though.”

“I know.”

She asked ever so softly, “Forever?”

He answered with his heart bared to her, “If you become mine, you’ll be mine forever. Not just for today, or a few days. When that day comes, and I ask you, will you give me your answer?” She nodded, smiling with tears in her eyes, and his face softened to see her gazing at him with love and joy. He bent toward her and softly kissed her on the lips. She was always struck with how this man, who wielded a vicious sword and dealt death as a matter of course, could be so gentle with her. She closed her eyes, leaning into his kiss, and took him fully into her heart.

The next day, Young went to the palace. Word had spread among the Woodalchi that the High Doctor was staying with their General, and the Woodalchi standing guard at the palace tried to hide their smiles, bowing as he passed them, then grinning at each other with an occasional snicker. Young heard it and abruptly turned around, but the guards instantly wiped the smiles from their faces and stared straight ahead.

Young was not wearing a military uniform. Instead he wore a belted long coat made of lavender-colored suede with wide lapels; no doubt Eun-soo had had some say in him wearing it. It was stylish and would help keep him warm in the cold weather. Not wearing a uniform signaled that he still held himself apart from the King’s service. He wanted to give the King plausible deniability if he killed someone outside the normal legal procedures. Nevertheless, the King had called for him, and Young entered his chambers, bowing and telling him, “I came by Your Majesty’s summons.”

The King invited him to sit across from him and once settled, asked him when he was going to return to his service. He told Young that he had intended to give Eun-soo a high post, thinking that would make her safe. But she had instead insisted on going into the Woodalchi.

Young nodded. The King continued, “So you will remain here for now, right?”

Young told him, “There is one matter I’d like to settle first.” The King said it must be about Prince Hyung. Young agreed, adding, “He dared to kidnap Her Highness the Queen.” The King added that Young also still needed Eun-soo’s antidote. Young asked, “May I punish him? If it’s difficult officially, I will do it personally.”

The King replied, “Let’s do it officially.” They began planning their next move on the Prince.

Meanwhile, Eun-soo was beginning to acclimate herself to being a Woodalchi. Behind the barracks a group was gathered around Dol-bae and a much heftier Woodalchi who were practicing hand-to-hand combat. Dol-bae was shirtless as he fought, showing off his fine musculature. Eun-soo joined the other Woodalchi, who cheered the two of them on, clapping and shouting encouragement at particularly good moves. Dol-bae initially appeared to be overmatched by the much larger man, but he held his own and finally was able to drop him to the ground. Young had come back to check to her as the bout was still in progress, and was not happy to see Eun-soo outside where she could be seen. Once the fight was over, he approached her and flicked his head and eyes up to indicate she should come with him to their shared room. She caught his look of disapproval and pouted, rolling her eyes in resignation as she went to follow him.

Once in their room, he turned to her and asked, “Didn’t you come here to hide?”

“But I _am_ hiding.”

“In front of all the Woodalchi?” She replied that she’d been told it was fine to do so, since they were all his men. He wanted to know which of his men had told her that.

Rather meekly, she told him that she had planned to go to the Royal Medical Office because she needed some medicinal herbs as well as herbs for her research into an antidote. The Woodalchi had told her that she needed his permission to go there, so she just been waiting for him. She asked, “May I go, Daejang?”

He told her sternly, “Not alone, take three men with you.” She told him she understood. He added, “Bring what you need here and study it in this room.”

Agreeing with a sparkle in her eye, she said, “Yes, Daejang.” He didn’t respond right away, but only gazed at her. Knowing his sternness only covered his love and desire to protect her, she smiled and added, “Why did you come? You just missed me?”

A little taken aback at her reading him so well, he looked down for a moment then looked up again, saying, “I’m going to be late today.”

“Yes, Daejang”

“I must solve something.”

“I’ll be waiting, Daejang.”

He took a step closer, and as she looked up at him, he said, “ That word, ‘Daejang.’ Say it once more. He liked how she said his title.

They gazed at each other as she flirtatiously drew out the word, “Dae..jang?” As her lips formed the word, he decided he wanted to kiss those lips. He slowly bent his head down to hers.

Just then, Choon-sik barged into the room to tell the General that they were ready to leave. Looking at the two of them so close together, Choon-sik realized he’d interrupted a private moment and looked abashed. Young told Choon-sik he was coming while thinking to himself that he needed to get a lock on the door. As he turned to go, Eun-soo smiled up at him and saluted. But she frowned as he headed toward the door, thinking she’d been cheated of a kiss. They were still feeling their way toward whatever intimacy they’d allow themselves to have before she had to leave. And there was more that concerned her. After he’d gone, she put her hand to her forehead, then checked her pulse; she was relieved that there were as yet no signs of the poison.

In the palace, the King encountered Ki Chul, who still wanted to see Eun-soo. The King told him that he had sent the Doctor somewhere else, that there was nothing he could do. Ki Chul replied menacingly that, in that case, he would have to find her on his own. The King continued on his way but felt concerned about what the other man might do. He didn’t have long to wait. That same afternoon Eum-ja and Hwa-su-in invaded the Royal Medical Office and the Herbal Medicine House, which included Eun-soo’s previous quarters, looking for her.

Ki Chul's minions killed everyone they encountered. At the edge of the commotion, Deo-ki managed to crawl into a small corner under a table but was forced to watch the slaughter from her hiding place. Even the Royal Doctor Jang was not spared from their rampage. Then, having failed to find the High Doctor, they left as abruptly as they had come. In their wake, bloodied or burned bodies and great splatters of red were everywhere, from medical workers and even patients awaiting treatment.

After Young had left their room, Eun-soo also left, heading toward the Royal Medical Office accompanied by several Woodalchi. As they walked, she entertained them with a well-known story featuring the heroine, Chunhyang, who resisted a corrupt magistrate’s pressure to sleep with him. Suddenly they saw Deo-ki running up to them with tears running down her face, who yanked on Eun-soo’s arm, frantically pointing to the Medical Office. Following her there, they entered the open door and found a body, then another, and still another. As they searched rooms and hallways, they found more bodies. Crying out or moaning at each discovery of people she’d come to know, Eun-soo examined those who weren’t obviously dead, hoping to find someone alive. But all were gone. At last the Woodalchi discovered Dr. Jang’s bloody corpse. Hearing their shouts about finding him, Eun-soo’s tears fell from her eyes as she heard the news. The Woodalchi prevented her from entering that room where his crumpled body lay, knowing of the deep friendship between the two doctors. In their anguish both she and Deo-ki fought to enter the room, their hearts torn. Dol-bae told her that Dr. Jang had been attacked by masters of inner powers, and many of the dead bore similar signs. He handed Eun-soo a covered container, telling her that Dr. Jang had evidently been protecting it when he was killed, keeping it in his hands. Eun-soo remembered the good doctor telling her that he would try to make an antidote for the poison. The result of his efforts must be in that container. She sobbed anew to think of Dr. Jang’s friendship and dedication to help her. Dol-bae went on to tell her that they couldn’t stay there and would immediately return to the barracks, because they didn’t know when the murderers might return and attack again. Since they were masters of inner power, the Woodalchi wouldn’t be able to stop them.

Meanwhile, the two murderous minions of Ki-chul went after the Suribang spearman, Ji Ho, in a two-pronged attack. They hoped to torture him into telling them where to find the High Doctor. Eum-ja drove him toward an abandoned building while Hwa Su-in lay in wait for him. Seeing her, Ji Ho tried to attack her but by doing so she was able to reach him. She put her hand on his upper chest and shoulder and began to burn. Fortunately the archer, Ji Hul, had been shadowing his friend and shot an arrow at her, forcing her let go. The two young warriors ran off, Ji Hul helping support his wounded brother.

Unaware as yet of what had happened at the Medical Office, Young quickly followed up on his conversation with the King about taking Prince Hyung into custody. He found out that the Prince had gone with Ki Chul to his house, so he went there with several Woodalchi. Arriving, Young told his men to search the premises thoroughly and not to let anyone leave, then confronted Ki Chul, demanding to see the Prince. However, Ki Chul had already told the Prince to go to Jungdong, an outpost controlled by Yuan citizens and supporters. The Prince and Ki Chul thoroughly disliked and mistrusted each other but had stayed allied in hopes of deposing the King. Partly as a delaying tactic to give the Prince time to leave, and partly due to his obsession with the High Doctor, Ki Chul didn’t respond to Young’s demand but instead accused him and the King of covering up for the High Doctor’s trick. He wondered that everyone, from Il-shin to the other Woodalchis, all had the same story about seeing Young bring the High Doctor from the portal to heaven. How did they all keep their stories straight, and did Young create the story? Then he reconsidered and said that it must have been that wicked thing and her silver tongue. Young told him to watch what he said and went on to officially inform him that the Prince would be investigated for abducting the Queen. Just then, Choon-sik came into the room to report the sighting of a carriage leaving the house. Young ordered them to follow, correctly suspecting where the Prince was going. Before leaving, Young warned Ki Chul to be careful, noting that accomplices of the Prince, even a noble like him, wouldn’t go unpunished.

As Young turned to leave, Ki Chul grabbed his arm and asked again to meet the High Doctor, saying he had something to ask her and adding that he wouldn’t kill her. But Young told him skeptically, “You won’t kill her? You will torture her. I know how you’ve treated her so far, and I can’t allow you to see her.” Then he bowed, removed the other man’s hand from his arm, and left an angry and frustrated Ki Chul alone.

Dae-man took the lead in capturing the Prince, running over a hill and perching in a tree near the road so he would be able to see his carriage approaching. As it passed him, he leaped onto it, made his way forward and threw the driver off his perch. Other Woodalchi brought the carriage to a standstill by grabbing the horse’s harness. Opening the curtain, Dae-man’s normally cheerful face was deadly serious as he spied the Prince. They quickly escorted him back to the palace, putting him in prison to await interrogation.

While all this was happening, the King’s advisors were discussing among themselves the wisdom of going to war with Yuan, with some questioning the King’s judgement. They spoke about having to live in fear of what Yuan might do. Teacher Ikjae even suggested they meet with the Yuan envoy themselves. Young passed by their meeting room and was surprised to see the King standing outside the room with his attendant, Do-chi. Young asked if he wasn’t going into the meeting, but the King told him it was noisy in there, and he was delaying going into the room. Young gave a half smile, not envying the King having to deal with them. He reported that Prince Hyung was in custody and asked when the King wanted to interrogate him. The King started to say “Today…” but Young shook his head slightly; they needed to allow more time for word to spread about the Prince's imprisonment. Picking up on Young’s cue, the King changed it to the next day, saying he had to deal with the court today, so they should interrogate the Prince the next morning.

As Young turned to go, the King told him about Dr. Jang being attacked and killed, likely by the people looking for the High Doctor. He added that she had to be quite upset, as Dr. Jang had been a close friend. Shocked and saddened himself by the doctor’s death, Young quickly left to go check on Eun-soo. On his way, Dol-bae told him that the Suribang had also been attacked; some of them had been injured or tortured to death. But Young’s mind was first on seeing to Eun-soo; he’d find and deal with the murderers soon enough.

When a grim Young entered their room in the barracks, he found Eun-soo chopping up some roots and placing them in a bowl. In a quavering voice she apologized for the strong smell of the medicinal roots. Her hands shook a little, and she kept her face turned away. She told him they wouldn’t let her go to the Royal Medical Office, so she had to work there. He stepped closer to her and noticed her hands were dirty from handling the roots and that she was trying not to cry. She began to tell him about Dr. Jang, but he quietly told her he’d already heard. Her voice nearly breaking, she said he’d been like a master to her as well as a friend who listened to her. Young kneeled down next to her, took one of her hands in his and gently began wiping it with a clean cloth. But she was too agitated to be comforted in that way yet. She stood and pulled him over to one of the covered pots nearby and held it up, telling him that Dr. Jang had died protecting it. It had shown promise as a possible antidote, so she’d need to work on it. Without commenting, he took the pot and put it down, then turned her around and began unfastening her leather armor from behind. As he did so, she said that Dr. Jang had died because of her, that it was her fault, she had killed him. She was consumed with guilt over his death, saying again that she had killed him. Young’s only reply was to silently remove her armor, set it down with a ‘clunk’, and lead her by the hand to the bed. He helped her lie down with one arm around her shoulders and the other lifting her legs into the bed. She tried to get up, but he gently pushed her back down, saying, “Rest a little.” He tucked the covers over her and pulled a chair over to sit by her. He noticed that she had turned her face away, feeling so responsible for the doctor’s death.

He decided to tell her a story from his own life. “At age 16, I killed a person for the first time. He was a Japanese pirate, and everyone praised me.” He smiled a bit at the memory, continuing, “For killing him swiftly and fearlessly. So at first, I was excited and proud of myself. But that night, I didn’t get any sleep because I was shaking with chills. I was so cold, but it wasn’t even winter. It was the 21st of June, that day.”

Eun-soo slowly looked over at him, “You remember the date?”

“Yes, I remember it, and I remember his face.”

“The second as well?”

“No. Starting from the second, I only remember it like this. One more. Then another…and another. So I know this. When I say, ‘I killed a man,’ I don’t mean it lightly.” He looked over at her, meeting her eyes, and asked, “Did you hear me?”

Very softly, she told him, “I heard.” It was a gentle reprimand that actually helped relieve some of her guilt. He urged her to get some sleep, but she continued to gaze at him for a time, wondering again at the totally different worlds they came from. Yet he had still been able to ease some of her guilt in his own warriorly way. Eventually she drifted off to sleep as he continued to watch over her before finally going to sleep himself, putting two chairs together so he could rest his long legs on one of them.

The next morning, Eun-soo woke up, stretched, and turned to look for Young with a smile on her face. Touched by his care for her the previous night, she felt thrilled to actually be living with the man she loved. He was already up and dressed in his suede coat, adjusting his belt with his back to her. He checked briefly on her herbs, lifting the lid of one of the pots, then held his scabbard up, pulling the sword out partway to check on it. She looked away from him for a moment and when she looked back, she jerked with surprise; he had moved silently across the room and was kneeling right in front of her. In his quiet voice he told her not to delay getting up or she wouldn’t get any breakfast, and that he’d return. Leaning on her pillow, she smiled and playfully saluted her Daejang. Still feeling the joy of being with him, she counted silently to herself to see if he’d turn to look at her another time before he left, “ _One…two…three!_ ” As was his habit, he turned to look at her again and smiled just before going out the door. She returned his smile, then let her head fall on her pillow in delight.

Young’s morning task, however, was anything but a delight. He went to the prison, telling Prince Hyung he was there to escort him to the King for interrogation. But first Young came right up to him and, standing mere inches in front of the Prince, he asked for the antidote. The Prince snidely replied, “And if I give it to you? Will you restore my fiancée to me?” Young didn’t reply but instead told his men to search the Prince to see if he might have the antidote on him. He told them to search thoroughly, even through the Prince’s hair, knowing that it was an indignity for a noble. Finding nothing, they took him out of his cell to escort him to the King.

Just then, however, the Yuan envoy arrived at the Prince’s cell with a few of his men. The envoy addressed him, “You must be the Commanding General, Choi Young.” Young asked what he was doing there with Yuan soldiers by his side; they were within Goryeo’s jurisdiction. But the envoy replied that the Prince’s current position was Governor of Jungdong, considered Yuan territory. Even if he was guilty of a crime, it was to be investigated and adjudicated under the jurisdiction of Jungdong. Young had to allow the Prince to go with him.

As the envoy turned to go, Young asked him, “Why did you want to kill the High Doctor? If she’s someone so powerful that she’s famous in Yuan, wouldn’t you want to bring her with you and show her to everyone? Why did you want to just kill her no matter what?” The envoy replied that he if he came to meet with her, he would explain it to her in person. Young asked one more thing. How did the envoy know his name? He was a mere warrior and hadn’t even been around the King recently. The envoy told him that, according to the intelligence he’d received when he entered Goryeo, “‘The current king might become ferocious as a tiger, but Choi Young is the king’s claw. Without him, the king can be tamed as a cat.’ So I remembered that name.” 

Young responded, “Did you come to break His Majesty?”

“I have yet to make a decision about which I must break.” And with that the envoy left with the Prince.


	42. Chapter 21, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King tries to get the support of his advisors to attack Jungdong, a Yuan fortress. Eun-soo meets with the Yuan envoy and learns why he wanted her killed. Choi Young captures two of Ki Chul's most powerful minions.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Young reported to the King that he had followed his order to allow Prince Hyung to leave with the envoy. Knowing his General’s animosity toward the Prince, the King told him, “I know it wasn’t easy for you.” Letting the Prince go was part of a larger plan. With the Prince at Jungdong, the Yuan faction’s main stronghold, they would have an excuse to attack that fortress in order to recapture the traitor. And capturing Jungdong would help neutralize a foreign faction inside their border.

Young reminded him, “Your Majesty. Jungdong is in Ki Chul’s hands, and since they now have Prince Hyung, they’ll attack soon.” Young wanted to go ahead with a preemptive strike on Jungdong, and he asked the King for permission and an army to do it. But the King said he would first seek the approval of the statesmen. Young didn’t trust the statesmen, thinking they would only do what would benefit themselves. He thought there was no need to ask for their support in advance of the attack. But the King wanted to be a ruler backed by the will of the people, and the people most representative of them in the court were the statesmen. While the Prince of the Court and his ilk used private soldiers, the King would be using his own citizens to exert his will. As Young looked at him skeptically, the King said he needed time to bring the statesmen to his side.

The King went to meet with the statemen, and at about the same time Ki Chul met with the pro-Yuan nobles at the Jungdong fortress. Both groups assessed their numbers. The King had 2,000 royal soldiers plus the Woodalchi, his personal guard. But Ki Chul and the pro-Yuan nobles had private armies that, if they joined together, were many times that number. As a result, the King’s statesmen were understandably reluctant to support a preemptive attack. The King pointed out that if they didn’t do so and Yuan attacked Goryeo, the pro-Yuan faction would essentially be an enemy force already inside the country as war broke out. In addition, that faction was protecting someone who had kidnapped the Queen, so they were fully justified in making an attack. Lastly, they would never be able to act on their desired reforms for the country as long as the other group held so much power. He ended with, “We can’t miss this chance.”

On the other side, Ki Chul was telling the nobles about the King’s plans for land and slave reforms, and that the King intended to snatch their assets and use them to fight against Yuan. Pointing to Prince Hyung, he said they had a perfectly good candidate for King who would help them continue prospering for generations.

Meanwhile, Young met with the Commanding General, Ahn Jae, who told him that, at the moment, Jungdong fortress only had 100 Yuan soldiers guarding it. The question was what the response would be from the pro-Yuan faction once the King’s forces attacked. As they were discussing strategy, the King joined them. Young asked him how his meeting with the statesmen had gone, and the King told him they had not yet made a decision. He planned to meet individually with each of the statesmen, so they would need to wait a little longer. Ahn Jae pointed out that a military operation like the one they were discussing needed to be a surprise attack. As time went on, word would leak out and their borders would be in danger. The King acknowledged his argument but refused to push ahead without the agreement of the statesmen. Young could only sigh in frustration.

When their meeting ended, Young followed the King out of the room, reminding him, “You said we would use Prince Hyung as a bait to attack Jungdong. That’s why you had me let him go.”

The King shot back, “I remember. Do you think I’m happy about this?”

Out of patience, Young challenged, “Did you throw in a bait when you didn’t even have a fishing pole? Do you know what fishing is?” The King turned around and told him that, as a King, he needed a justification. Still irritated, Young told him to please make that justification quickly, as time was running out.

The King retorted, “So should I just tell you to go capture him and cut off his limbs to vent my anger? You would do that for me, whatever it takes.” The King began pacing as he talked. “Do you remember the time I first returned home? That night when the attackers ambushed us. You said to me, ‘Can you stay behind me even if you’re scared without running away? Then I can protect you.’ So I hid behind you while you fought and protected me.”

Young said, “Your Majesty…”

But the King cut him off, and raising his voice asked, “How long do I keep hiding behind you? What I want is to make the Prince of the Court crumble without significant bloodshed, in order for us to see our land on the north again [land that Yuan had previously annexed]. I need the support of the people to do that. Couldn’t you wait a bit more?”

While he still didn’t agree with the risk they were taking, Young saw how important this was to the King and that he had a broader vision in mind. Submitting to the royal will, Young inclined his head and said, “I understand.”

Then the King gave him an order, “I heard that those who killed the Royal Doctor are from the Prince of the Court’s house. Capture them and bring them here alive.”

Young bowed, saying, “As you wish, My King.” As Young turned to go, however, his sword fell from his hand and clattered onto the floor. Young looked at the King in shock and then down at his sword; he had always carried his sword like another arm. The King was also shocked. Young had great physical prowess and mental focus; he’d never seen Young drop anything, much less his sword. He briefly wondered if it was some sort of omen. Shaken, Young bent down to pick up his sword, bowed again and left the room without a word.

Eun-soo didn’t have a specific duty assignment as a Woodalchi, at least not yet, so she decided to make a follow-up health call on the Queen. She examined the Queen and told her that everything looked fine. Pleased to hear that news, the Queen moved to a different topic. The High Doctor had earlier told her about how much the King yearned for her and how devastated he’d be if something happened to her. And she also knew that the Queen had a weak uterus. Recent events had shown her words to be true. So, given that the High Doctor had that kind of knowledge from heaven, the Queen asked when she and the King would have their next baby. As Eun-soo paused to think about her answer, the Queen asked another question. Would she be the one to leave first? Eun-soo paused, struggling to come up with an answer that would satisfy the Queen but not reveal too much of the future.

She was saved from answering the Queen when an urgent message arrived for the High Doctor from the Yuan envoy. She excused herself from the Queen’s presence and asked Lady Choi to open it, since she didn’t read Chinese characters well. But the messenger had specified that only the High Doctor was to open the message, and that the envoy was waiting for her. Opening it, she saw that the message contained just a few letters. But seeing those letters made her eyes go wide with surprise, and she hurried out to meet him.

Young relished the King’s order to capture Ki Chul’s minions, not only because he could capture two important supporters of Ki Chul’s power, but also because it kept his mind off the King’s insistence on gaining the support of his statesmen. He decided to set a trap similar to the earlier one that had been set for him, thinking there was a certain ironic justice to it. He sent the Suribang swordsman to lure Hwa-su-in and Eum-ja to an empty house with the promise of finding the High Doctor there. Once they were inside, Young’s men trapped them inside by propping timbers against the doors until Young could get there. Following Young’s orders, his men had liberally smeared tar throughout the interior so that Hwa Su-in wouldn’t be able to burn her way out without burning herself up as well. Further, he had deployed archers and men with jugs if oil around the house, so that even when they finally broke out, they wouldn’t be able to go far. Young arrived just as they finally broke out of their imprisonment and told them they were under arrest for attacking the Royal Medical Office, killing Dr. Jang and the others. The two minions were still deciding whether to comply when Young’s men began throwing jugs of oil toward them. The jugs shattered on the tiles and the walls of the house just behind them, making the whole area around them highly flammable. As a result, Hwa Su-in wouldn’t be able to use her power without going up as a fireball herself. Young smirked at their discomfiture and even grabbed a bow himself, shooting an arrow toward Eum-ja as he tried to play his flute. Hwa Su-in turned to run, but Young shot two more arrows, immobilizing her by pinning her wrist and gown to the house behind her.

Young approached the pair and put his sword to Eum-ja’s neck, telling him, “Submit.” But as his men began to bind Eum-ja, Young’s sword, which he still held at Eum-ja’s neck, began to shudder and shake. Young watched it in consternation, unable to control the shaking, as though his arm and hand belonged to someone else. Others took note as well, particularly Hwa Su-in. Young turned away, lowered his sword and sheathed it. Quickly recovering himself, he took a final jug of oil from Dae-man and splashed it all over Hwa Su-in, saying as he did so, “Since you love to play with fire…” She wouldn’t be able to use her powers while being escorted to prison, either. Finally he told his men to take them away. Once they were gone, Young sat down on a step and tried to figure out what had happened to him. He grasped his scabbard and moved it around, then opened and closed his right hand repeatedly. Everything seemed to work fine, but clearly something wasn’t right. What that was, however, was a mystery to him.

After receiving the envoy’s message, Eun-soo made her way to his quarters and was shown to where he sat at his desk. She slapped the message down on the desk. The outside of it was addressed to her in Chinese characters, but the text inside read, “Eun-soo,” written in modern Hangul letters. She said, “This message you gave me. Did you write it yourself?”

He replied, “I wrote it. Do you know what this writing is? If you didn’t know it, you wouldn’t be running here like this. Especially since I’m the one trying to execute you.”

But she was cautious of him. “If I say I know this writing, then once again you’ll call me the wily thing who should be executed. Will you?” Knowing she wouldn’t tell him the truth if he said “Yes,” he suggested that they have a frank conversation and then afterward deny that it ever existed. That was acceptable to her. He told her that he didn’t know what the writing said; he only wrote it from memory. His great-great grandfather had written it in his journal, relating a story about a woman who used tools from heaven to cure many people who would otherwise have died. Among those she saved was young boy. Unfortunately that boy later became the head of a bandit organization and returned to the village, killing many of its people. It was his ancestor’s belief that the healer had done a wrong thing by saving the boy. He had left instruction that, if any of his descendants found a woman who claimed to be from heaven, he must kill her to bring peace to the world. After relating this story, the envoy asked, “What do you think? Have you ever saved someone who shouldn’t be saved?”

She stated firmly, “I’m a doctor. To a doctor, there isn’t anyone who shouldn’t be saved.”

After arresting Ki Chul’s minions, Young still wasn’t done for the day. He had asked his pledged aunt, the Manbo sister, to search for an antidote, something that might delay poison, or a painkiller. He met with her to see what she had found, but unfortunately, she had only found some medicines to ease suffering. He tucked those medicines into his jacket and hurried back to the barracks to check on Eun-soo. He continuously worried about when the poison might start to affect her.

He found her with the other Woodalchi. She told them to get in line as they joked and laughed with each other, then she poured cups of a liquid she had brewed from the raisin trees around the barracks. She told them that they drank this tea in heaven because it helped restore energy. Her bubbly presence brought smiles all around as she ladled the liquid into a cup for each man. When Young came into the room, everything came to a halt. The men quickly lined up and bowed to their Daejang, a bit wary of how he’d react. The last time he had seen them together like this was when she had given them and the warrior maidens homemade toothpaste and made it an impromptu party. Exhausted and injured from his fight with the assassins and coming upon the happy group, Young had chastised them for spending their time frivolously. But this time was different. His latest recruit welcomed him with a sunny smile and told him he’d worked hard. Would he like some tea? It would make him feel better. Still looking serious, he held out his hand for a cup supplied by Dae-man, which she then filled. Everyone waited to see his reaction. He drank it all down, smiled at her, and held out his cup for more. Everyone was relieved and pleased to see him relaxed and smiling, quite a change in their stern Daejang.

That night, Eun-soo continued to work with the medicinal herbs Dr. Jang had hoped would become an antidote for her. While she worked, she recalled the rest of her conversation earlier that day with the Yuan envoy. He had wanted her to stop healing people, in his words, “To save nothing and kill nothing, to touch nothing of the world.” He told her it was _his_ job to eliminate what was harmful to the world.

At the time she thought that he had no idea how hard she had initially worked to do just that. But she had since changed her mind. She replied, “To not live diligently in case the world becomes dangerous, what kind of a dog logic is that? Because of me, history will change? So what? Did I come from another world? If I live here now, then _this_ is my world.” Almost talking to herself, she had added, “The more I think about how I’ve been living holding my breath, the angrier I’m getting.” She stood up and told him, “You still want to kill me? Try it. And I’ll try to live with all my might.” Their conversation had ended there.

Eun-soo was still working with the herbs when Young returned from washing up. Both of them were dressed in silky brown sleeping robes. He began to set two chairs facing each other, which is how he had been sleeping, leaving the bed for her. She knew how hard he’d been working, so she put her hand on one of the chairs, saying, “Tonight, sleep comfortably in your bed. I’m speaking as your doctor.” He tried to ignore her and continued moving a chair into place. But she told him, “Listen to me.” He started to complain half-heartedly about a new recruit daring to tell him what to do, but she interrupted him, putting her palms together and softly saying, “Please.” Her Daejang found it impossible to resist that sweet plea and gave in, sitting down on the bed. As she situated herself on the two chairs, he asked whether she was making progress toward an antidote. She admitted it was harder without the tools she was used to. The biggest problem was time.

She began taking down her hair from its ponytail while continuing to talk about how the work was proceeding slowly. She ran her fingers through her hair to separate the strands, and Young looked around for her comb, taking it from a shelf near him. He started to hand it to her, but the comb fell out of his hand and onto the ground. He tried to pick it up but dropped it again. She missed the first drop but not the second, looking at him in alarm. From the expression on his face she realized it wasn’t a complete surprise to him – it must have happened before. She quickly moved over to the bed and entwined her fingers through those on his right hand, asking him to pull, then pull harder. When he did so, she told him nothing seemed particularly wrong, but… had this happened before?... When did it start? He told her he just needed sleep and laid himself down on the bed with a groan; it was true that he was very tired. He put the back of a forearm on his forehead, shielding his eyes from the light in the room. She began to move toward the chairs, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, wanting her to sleep beside him. She smiled and lay down on the bed next to him. He held one hand up and she took it in hers, and they went to sleep holding hands. During the night, she found herself snuggling against his chest for warmth. He woke only enough to put his arms around her, holding her close, then went back to sleep.

The next day, Do-chi told the King that an official notice had come from Jungdong. Prince Hyung was going to be interrogated there, and they requested the King’s presence to observe it. Choon-sik was immediately suspicious and told the King it would be very dangerous for him to go there, given the current situation. And indeed it was a trap. The invitation had come from Ki Chul, who thought the King wouldn’t be able to resist coming; he would want others to see that he wasn’t afraid. When the King came, Ki Chul planned to capture him and use him as a hostage to gain control of the army. Then there would be a bloodless change of ruler. After that, however, there would be plenty of bloodshed later in order to consolidate power.

The King met with Young, Ahn Jae and other commanders to decide whether or not to attend the Prince’s interrogation. Young agreed with Choon-sik, that it would be dangerous to go, as the King would himself be the bait. Smiling as he remembered Young’s earlier criticism about having thrown in a bait without a fishing pole, the King acknowledged that he didn’t know much about fishing. But it was worth the risk if it would mobilize the statesmen. Seeing that the King was determined, they began strategizing on how to safely get the King there and back to the palace. They finally decided that the King would be escorted by only 12 Woodalchi, and they would hide the fact that they had the royal army waiting. With such a small number of men guarding the King, the pro-Yuan noble houses wouldn’t see a need to summon their own armies. Secretly, however, the rest of the Woodalchi and the King’s army, headed by Ahn Jae, would be on standby. But that army would only be sent into Jungdong fortress, essentially Yuan territory, by a decision of the statesmen. 

At last the time had come to escort the King to Prince Hyung’s interrogation. Choi Young was in the Woodalchi barracks getting dressed. As he slipped a knife into one of his boots, he explained to Eun-soo that most of the remaining Woodalchi troops would be accompanying him, so there would only be a few men, mostly new recruits, at the barracks until they returned. Holding up his armor and slipping it over his shoulders, she told him that she’d visit the Queen briefly and afterward she’d sit quietly at the barracks, so he shouldn’t worry. Then she went around him and began fastening his armor from behind while she asked about his hand. He curled his right hand into a fist; it seemed all right. She said that he should tell his doctor right away if anything seemed amiss. As she fastened his belt around him, she asked why he didn’t reply. He smiled, telling her that, for a new recruit, she was very impudent. But after a moment his smiled died as he felt her head leaning against his back. She was touching him one last time and saying a silent prayer for his safety, knowing he was going into battle. Finally, she clapped him on the back, saying, “It’s all done, Daejang.” He turned around and they gazed at each other for a few moments before he left. As couples had done since time immemorial, they were bidding a loving farewell as one of them was going into battle, not knowing if that one would survive the day.


	43. Chapter 22, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King meets with Prince Hyung at Jongdong fortress and is attacked. The Queen chides the statesmen for their indecision. Choi Young's sword hand becomes impaired while protecting the King.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo, and Jungdong Fortress**

Once Young and the other Woodalchi left for the palace to escort the King to Jungdong, a man in dark clothes and a bamboo hat began making his way toward the Woodalchi barracks, and specifically toward the General’s room. He moved quickly, evading the novice guards around the barracks, working his way over the roof, down onto a high balcony and then levering himself into a skylight. Eun-soo, meanwhile, was continuing her work with the antidote preparation. As she transferred some of it into a smaller pot, the man dropped from the skylight onto the floor just a few feet away from her. Terrified by his sudden entrance and menacing stance, she slowly backed away from him, hardly able to breathe from shock and fear. Dae-man, who was watching over her, leaped between her and the intruder and blew his alarm whistle. Then he ran at the man to attack him, but the intruder eluded him. Meanwhile, Eun-soo had grabbed the small jar that contained the most recent version of the brewing antidote and held it in her hands while moving around the room, trying to keep away from the intruder.

In less than a minute other Woodalchi came running into the room to assist Dae-man, but they were new recruits and no match for the attacker. He kicked one of them back and into Eun-soo, knocking the precious jar onto the floor where it broke open, scattering its contents on the floor. The scuffling between the combatants spread the remainder around even further. Eun-soo dropped to the floor, trying to recover what bits she could, but it was a futile effort. Dae-man grabbed Eun-soo by the hand and ran out of the room with her while the other Woodalchi called for reinforcements. The intruder’s goal only became clear when he quickly gathered up Eun-soo’s surgical instruments and then fled.

At the palace the King stood contemplating the throne while waiting for Young and his men. The Queen came to wish him well. She knew he was on his way to meet the man who had done such a terrible thing to her and their child. Taking her hand, her husband said he had wanted to give the order to have the Prince killed many times, but had held back, wanting to be a King who ruled according to law rather than by whim. People, even the General, didn’t understand his hesitation, but she assured him that she understood. Finally he warned her that he might be gone for a long time, but she smiled reassuringly and said that she’d be waiting. Then he left with Young, Do-chi and the 12 Woodalchi guards.

Lady Choi, hearing about a ruckus at the Woodalchi barracks, came to see Eun-soo, who Dae-man had brought to the palace after the attack. Lady Choi found her sitting hunched over and unmoving in shock and despair, her carefully cultivated antidote gone. Lady Choi called her name gently and helped her stand up. Eun-soo promptly hugged Lady Choi and started to cry on her shoulder. Lady Choi, unused to such close physical contact and intense emotion, awkwardly patted Eun-soo while asking Dae-man what had happened. Not satisfied with his halting explanation, she asked Eun-soo, but she only continued sobbing. A little while later, Eun-soo had recovered herself enough to take Lady Choi and Dae-man back to the room she shared with Young, where they found everything tossed about and her instruments missing. Eun-soo realized that the instruments were why the intruder had come, no doubt sent by the Yuan envoy to hobble her medical practice. The destruction of her antidote appeared to be a byproduct of the struggle.

Looking around at the debris in the room, Lady Choi spotted something and picked it up. It was a remnant of Mae-hee’s bandana with the red crescent moon embroidered on it. Eun-soo looked over and asked if that was what Young had kept around his sword, the cloth that had belonged to his betrothed. Lady Choi quickly folded it up, looking uncomfortable, and said, “Perhaps.”

Eun-soo said there was something she needed to know. “His betrothed. When she passed away, he suffered a lot, right? Lady Choi nodded, and Eun-soo continued, “How hard was it for him?...How long?”

Lady Choi asked, “What is it that you wish to know?”

Pointing to the shards of the jar on the floor, Eun-soo said, “That … held my antidote. In order to culture that again from the start, it will take some time.” Her eyes began to moisten and her voice quavered as she continued, “However, it can’t be done before the heaven door opens, no matter what. So the other option is to give up on returning and start over. But that may not succeed, you see. If it doesn’t, then I will die.” She couldn’t stop a sob from escaping, and Lady Choi helped her sit down again and sat across from her on the bed. Eun-soo went on, now with tears on her face, “So if that doesn’t succeed and I die…what about him?”

Lady Choi asked softly, “You intend to stay?”

“It’s crazy, isn’t it? But if I just leave, then I think I really will go crazy. Every day I will only think about whether he’s all right. Is he really all right?” She sobbed as she repeated, “Is he all right?”

Lady Choi looked at her with compassion and urged, “You should ask him yourself. That guy never really talks about himself, so his words will be clumsy. But, ask him. He’ll tell you.”

Earlier that morning, the Yuan envoy met with Ki Chul and Prince Hyung at Jungdong fortress. He pushed an elaborately decorated red envelope on his desk toward Ki Chul, saying, “This is the imperial letter to enthrone Prince Hyung.” Ki Chul reached for the letter, but the envoy kept his hand on it and asked a question of the King’s uncle. “When you ascend to Goryeo’s throne, what is the first thing you will accomplish?”

The Prince quickly replied, “As agreed, giving Goryeo to Yuan, would that do?”

“And afterwards?”

“Then I shall become Prime Minister. And then I shall reward the Prince of the Court suitably.”

“And then?”

“Is there something you need too, Dansa Officer? Just tell me.” The envoy didn’t reply or change his expression, but he simply finished pushing the letter toward Ki Chul, who picked it up and gave it to Prince Hyung.

Ki Chul commented that it seemed the envoy was satisfied with the answers he had received. The envoy agreed, saying, “As long as those who are busy fighting for their vested rights govern this land, they will not be a threat to the Yuan nation.” He added that a long time ago, he had hoped to help Goryeo, that if he worked hard it might even recover its territory in the north. But it seemed the world was always full of people like Ki Chul and the Prince, with everyone else just getting dragged along. Given that, perhaps the name of a country didn’t really matter. With that less than flattering assessment, the envoy considered his mission completed. He rose to his feet, told them that he would not be attending the Prince’s hearing, and left the room. After leaving the other men, the envoy took out an elaborate pocket watch and clicked it open to look at the time. Since the pocket watch wasn’t invented until the 16th century, the enigmatic envoy appeared to have his own relic from heaven.

Later that morning the King, Young and the other Woodalchi arrived at the fortress and made their way to the hearing room, where they encountered Prince Hyung, seated at a table and surrounded by Ki Chul and a few attendants and soldiers. The Prince rose to his feet as the King approached and Ki Chul began to announce him, but the King cut him off, saying, “Let’s just skip the preludes.” They all bowed to him as he took a seat across a table from the Prince, with Young and several of the Woodalchi standing behind him. The King got right to the point, saying, “Prince Hyung, I’ll give you a final chance. Either you will be put to death for the crime of kidnapping the Queen, or you will leave this land.”

Smirking, the Prince began to laugh and was joined by a sneering Ki Chul. He responded, “Your Majesty, this is a crime inquiry to determine whether I’m innocent or guilty of the crime.”

But the King interrupted again, trying to come to a resolution of the larger issue. “I am telling you right now, I will forgive you. I will forgive everything if you leave this land. But I will expunge your name from the royal family. Do not ever covet the seat of the king again. Let’s not have the citizens of this nation fighting against each other.”

Looking very regal, Prince Hyung sighed as though put out by a minor matter and turned to Ki Chul, saying, “You may begin.” Ki Chul held up the red envelope given him by the envoy and announced that the throne had been given to Prince Hyung. He added that anyone who defied the command of the Emperor would become a Yuan traitor as well as a traitor of Goryeo. At that announcement several soldiers came into the room to support the Prince and Ki Chul. Their swords weren’t drawn, but they clearly meant to enforce Yuan’s judgement. Young moved up to stand beside the King.

The two sides faced each other with the table between them. The King said angrily, “Must you insist on bloodshed? Since it’s not your blood that will be spilt, it’s all right?”

The Prince stood up and replied with a superior air, “If you detest blood so much, then don’t fight.” Trying to buy time, the King told him that the statesmen were gathered and he planned to ask them to choose who to support, so they should wait a bit longer.

But Ki Chul told him, “We don’t need annoying statesmen, they’re a nuisance. Let’s do this instead: the former king is resisting the Emperor’s decision, so for the crime of treason, we had no choice but to kill him.” The Prince chuckled and began walking out of the room, leaving pro-Yuan soldiers to deal with the King. The King shouted after him that he more to say, but the Prince paid him no heed and left, shortly followed by a smug Ki Chul. 

Young told the King, “They won’t listen, Your Majesty,” and then turned with his men to face the other side’s soldiers, who now drew their swords. Young and his men did the same to protect the King. One man led the attack and ran toward the King, but Young quickly killed him and called for Dol-bae to attack the rest while he told the King he would escort him out.

But the King told Young he wouldn’t leave the fortress. They left the meeting room and began looking for a place where they could hold out until the army received the statesmen’s order to take the fortress. Young personally took down three soldiers who blocked their way and the King’s party moved on while Young moved to guard their rear. Ki Chul briefly looked in on what was happening, saw Young dispense with the three soldiers and gave him a disgusted glare. He was convinced the King’s efforts were futile and it was just a matter of time before he’d be defeated and killed. Even the famous Choi Young, with so few men, wouldn’t be able to stand against the 100 or so soldiers in the fortress, bolstered by the group of mercenaries Ki Chul had brought with him to the meeting.

Several Woodalchi waiting outside the meeting room were attacked by fortress guards and fought them, blowing their whistle to let the others know of the attack. Ahn Jae continued waiting in hiding with the large body of royal guards near the fortress. Hearing the Woodalchi whistle, they knew an attack had begun. Ahn Jae told his men to get ready to face off with those guarding the fortress. But the King had told him in no uncertain terms that he was not to proceed until he received an order from the statesmen. Ahn Jae found it extremely frustrating, as did the rest of his men.

Meanwhile, the Goryeo statesmen dithered. Some thought they should go ahead and attack the fortress to protect the King while others feared starting a war with Yuan by doing so. Do-chi received a report of what had happened at the fortress and related it to them, telling them that the King was only protected by a few Woodalchi, but it didn’t break the logjam.

Then the Queen arrived, bearing a scroll and the King’s seal. She sat down at the head of the table and told them, “Before His Majesty left for Jungdong, he asked me to relay his words to you.” Holding up the scroll, she said, “This is the royal decree to dispatch the palace armies.” She set the scroll down and pointed to the box containing the royal seal. They were to use it when sending the order, so Ahn Jae would know it was a legitimate order. She went on to say that the King had left the seal with them so that, “If something should happen to him, he said for you, the statesmen, to handle the aftermath.”

Teacher Ikjae confirmed, “Did he want us to attack Jungdong with our hands?”

The Queen replied, “Yes, he did.” Another inquired if the King meant that they should use the seal, and again the Queen confirmed it. But the dithering among the statesmen continued.

At Jungdong fortress, the King’s party was looking for a place that could be guarded by just a few men. Young moved up to lead the way and, when several fortress soldiers attacked, led the defense along with Dol-bae and Deokman, keeping the soldiers away from the King. The King shouted that he was going in one direction, and Young ran up to him and told him the entrance was in a different direction. But the King reiterated that he wasn’t leaving. Young tried one more time to get the King to leave, saying that if the order was going to come it would already have done so. The King remained unpersuaded, saying with all the confidence he could muster, “It will come soon.” The King passed Young, who knew the King was grasping at straws but remained committed to protecting him as long as he could. As Young looked where the King and the rest of the Woodalchi had gone, another Jungdong soldier came at him. Young turned and slashed just once, and the man fell quickly to the ground. Then he followed the King.

At the palace, the statesmen were still unsure what to do when another message arrived, informing them of Yuan’s decision to make Prince Hyung the King. The discussion then turned to which King to support. And Ahn Jae’s army still waited for an order. The Queen watched all of this, disgusted with their dissembling but keeping her own counsel.

The Woodalchi guarding the King finally located a small set of rooms that could be defended by a relatively small number, a study area with a small library. The King decided to wait there until the army arrived. Nearly a year ago, when Young had first defended the King at the inn near the border, he had placed himself as the King’s last line of defense. This time, Young would be the King’s first line of defense. He was not only committed to saving the King, he also didn't want to lose any more Woodalchi. He stood guard in an open corridor to the room, determined that the attackers would not pass. One group of 10 soldiers came running at him. While they had the advantage of numbers, they were common soldiers and many of them only wore light armor. Young hacked and slashed his way through them, twirling and ducking blows as he did so. When he finished, they were all on the ground. His face and armor splashed with blood and gore, Young looked down at the dead or bleeding soldiers he had mowed through, sick at heart by having to kill men like these, who were no match for him. It had been a slaughter. Then he felt something and looked down at his right arm, the one holding his sword. It had started shaking uncontrollably again. He quickly switched his sword to the other hand and continued looking at his twitching right hand in horror; he was in the middle of a battle with a sword hand that refused to do his bidding. And just then another group came at him. Fortunately Dol-bae had come out and went after this smaller group, fighting several of them off while Young continued staring at his hand, refusing to believe what he was seeing. A few men made it around Dol-bae and went after Young, his back turned to them. But he heard them coming and fought them off using his left hand to wield the sword. Afterward, Dol-bae looked at his General, who had turned away from him. He saw Young try to grasp the sword with his right hand, but the sword simply fell out of his hand onto the ground. As Dol-bae looked on in consternation, Young quickly picked it up again with his left hand and went to see the King while there appeared to be a break in the attacks. He left Dol-bae in the corridor to warn of any new attack.

The King was pacing back and forth, angry and frustrated to not have received any word from the statesmen. He and the men with him would die soon if something didn’t change. He saw Young come in and rushed over to him, hoping there had been word. Young told him that there had been no word from the statesmen, but that the King could still order Ahn Jae’s 900-man army to attack and take over the fortress. Young tried to persuade him to give that order for the King’s own safety, but the King still refused, saying that because the statesmen wavered, they needed a day like this to force them to make a decision. If they didn’t make that decision, he wouldn’t be able to do much in the future as a weak King, unsure of the people’s support. Young, plagued by what was happening to his hand, told the King, “But if they take too long, I…might not be able to protect you.”

The King replied, “This is about deciding to commit the people to a war. I need their permission.”

Young, still skeptical, asked, “The people. The statesmen. Do you really believe in them?”

Remaining unmoved but trying to help Young understand, the King told him, “General. Now I think I am one of those people.” Young stared at him for a moment, knowing that the King would not give in. He loyally bent his head to acknowledge the King’s will, saying, “I understand.”

Young told his men they were in for a long fight. He sent someone to report the situation to Ahn Jae and also sent one of his top men to go to the rear to keep an eye on a possible exit. The rest were to stay there and protect the King. Young went out to the corridor and sent Dol-bae back to guard the King. He stood in the center of the wide corridor, alone, his sword in his left hand. In front of him other fortress soldiers had come, not to fight, but to help the injured and drag their dead away, giving him a brief respite.

While the Woodalchi were holding off the Yuan-backed soldiers, Eun-soo returned to their room in the barracks with Dae-man and a younger recruit to begin putting the room’s contents in order. She picked up an item of Young’s clothing and the aspirin bottle fell out, still containing the dried flower that he’d saved. She picked it up and took the flower out, holding it in the palm of her hand, thinking about him. She asked the two men there, “Our Woodalchi…How much danger are they in?” Dae-man cheerfully replied that they were fine because Daejang was with them. But the other young Woodalchi looked worried and told her that he’d heard that they were outnumbered. Even for Daejang, there would be a limit to his strength. Eun-soo said, “Then, there will be a lot of bloodshed.” Dae-man chimed in again that they would be fine, but neither of the other two shared his rosy view of things. Noticing her expression, Dae-man asked what she was thinking about. She replied pensively, “Just that…living here…would mean something like this. He has always lived like this…”

While everyone was focused on what was happening at Jungdong fortress, Eum-ja and Hwa-su-in took advantage of the distraction to break out of prison. Yang-sa came for them, backed by a few soldiers and using a poison ring he wore to stab the prison guards, who were quickly overcome. As they left the prison, Yang-sa told them about the envoy giving the emperor’s letter to the Prince and said they shouldn’t worry about killing the royal army soldiers at Jungdong. The Yuan-backed faction would take care of it.

At Jungdong fortress, Young continued standing guard in the corridor. As soon as the soldiers had finished carrying away their comrades, more soldiers came running, this time to fight. He stared balefully at them coming toward him and then looked down for a moment, positioning both hands on his sword for strength and taking a big breath to steel himself for the slaughter to come. He attacked the soldiers in front, hacking two-handedly, twirling and then slashing, quickly switching the sword to either arm, his right hand managing to maintain its grip for short bursts of action. The remaining soldiers paused when they saw their comrades in front being cut down en masse, understanding they were facing an extraordinary fighting man. Young eyed them from a grim face smeared with blood. They might be able to take him down with a concerted attack, but none of them wanted to be the next one to face the deadly warrior in full armor. Young continued to stand there, blocking their way.

Meanwhile, Prince Hyung and Ki Chul were waiting in another part of the fortress. Ki Chul shivered with a blanket around him, still suffering the effects of his inner energy backlash. The Prince paced back and forth, angrily demanding to know why they couldn’t go to the palace while the throne was unoccupied. But Ki Chul knew about the presence of Ahn Jae’s royal army, who would stop them from leaving the fortress. The Prince cried that the royal army belonged to the King and he was now the King. But Ki Chul just stared at him skeptically, telling him, “You tell that to the royal army men.” They would have to wait until the King was dead. And it was just a matter of time. Choi Young was protecting the King, but he and his men could only last so long. Just then, Yang-sa came with good news: 500 more men from Ki Chul’s private army, and 700 men from two other nobles’ private armies were on their way and would be there early in the afternoon. Even more men would arrive around sunset. They only had to wait a little longer to dispense with that annoying little king.

At the palace, the Queen continued to sit at the head of the table while the statesmen argued with each other. Teacher Ikjae looked over at her, regretting that she had to see such disarray and doubt about supporting her husband. He stood and turned to her, asking, “Your Royal Highness, the Queen. Please take care of your royal health and if you could go inside…”

But she’d had enough. She shouted at them, “Why don’t you just say that you will abandon us?! Just say that the statesmen will abandon His Majesty. So just say it.” With tears in her eyes she continued, “His Majesty is still waiting with hope. He will be waiting one night, no, even a hundred nights. But I cannot bear to watch this any longer. You don’t have the courage to abandon, or the courage to take charge?!” Many of the statesmen cringed as the Queen’s angry assessment hit home.

Soon after the Queen’s speech, Ahn Jae at last received the stamped scroll ordering them to take over Jungdong fortress. He immediately invaded the fortress with all 900 men to save the King and began capturing the pro-Yuan soldiers that hadn’t already been killed or injured. Yang-sa brought word to Ki Chul of the royal army’s invasion, but Ki Chul told him that wasn’t possible. He assured Yang-sa that those cowardly statesmen wouldn’t have the nerve to start a war with Yuan; the army must only be laying siege to the fortress. In disgust with the other man’s denial of reality and trying to save himself, the Prince left the room and sought a way out of the fortress, taking care to avoid the incoming soldiers.

At last Ahn Jae and his men approached the area where the King had taken refuge. Ahn Jae stopped to take in the scene before him: numerous bodies of enemy soldiers lay on the ground in front of Choi Young, who still stood there, by himself, guarding the entrance. Although Young loathed the killing he’d had to do there, his heroism in standing virtually alone against so many, saving the King and the other Woodalchi, became a legend, told over and over again through the years as an example of extraordinary valor and grit.

Seeing Ahn Jae, Young asked him about Prince Hyung. Told they were still looking for him, Young directed Ahn Jae toward the King and said, “Tell him I went to look for the bastard.” Then he left.

Ahn Jae hurried to see the King, announcing that he had come to escort His Majesty. The King asked if he had received the order and Ahn Jae assured him it was so, saying, “It’s a royal decree to dispatch the armies consented by all the statesmen, as I heard. Right now, Your Majesty’s royal armies are in the process of requisitioning the entire headquarters.”

The King absorbed the news, almost in shock. Then, before allowing himself to feel triumphant, his thoughts quickly turned to Young, worrying aloud, “Where is the General?”

Prince Hyung continued to evade the invading troops, but his odds of escape were rapidly decreasing. However, once again the envoy’s man was there to rescue him. He quietly escorted the Prince out of the fortress through a secret way, efficiently dispensing with the few soldiers they encountered. Young was left frustrated and worried. He not only didn’t find the Prince, he realized that whatever was going on with his hand was a serious problem.

Once the fortress had been occupied by the King’s army, the King was escorted back to the palace, and that night the Woodalchi finally returned to their barracks. Eun-soo was cutting up roots again in their quarters when she heard them return and hurried downstairs with the others. The returning men were greeted enthusiastically by their comrades, but Young was a darker presence, unsmiling, standing a little apart from his men. Eun-soo ran toward him and stopped, quickly running her eyes over him, scanning for injuries. It wasn’t easy to see that he hadn’t been wounded. He’d wiped the blood from most of his face, but the rest of him was still splattered in blood and gore. He turned to his men, telling them, “You guys worked hard.” Then, without another word, he walked past Eun-soo to their quarters, dropping his sword roughly on a table. It rolled off the table and clattered to the floor. Following behind him, Eun-soo slowly picked it up and returned it to the table, looking over at Young, who had gone to a chest to pick up a change of clothing. Carrying the folded clothes in one hand, he walked back toward the door to wash, again walking right past Eun-soo as she offered to help him take off his armor. He told her brusquely, “No need.”

She called to him, “Don’t be like that.” He turned and faced her, unsmiling. But she continued, “Turning your back on me and evading me, don’t do that to me.” That stopped him for a moment. She walked up to him and reached out to touch his face, but he pulled away, telling her brusquely, “It’s not my blood.”

She said softly, “I know.”

He looked away uncomfortably and began, “The opponents I fought against today were all normal soldiers.” Reluctantly meeting her eyes, he added, “Killing them…was not difficult. So…” He had felt like a butcher slaughtering sheep. He knew it had been necessary to save the King, but still he hated it. He was sick of killing people. Seeing his pain, she went up to him and put her arms around him in a loving embrace. She held him close, ignoring the reek of blood emanating from him. After a few seconds, he put an arm around her, closed his eyes and surrendered to being comforted by his beloved.


	44. Episode 22, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King reflects on his takeover of Jungdong fortress. The Doctor meets with the Queen. Choi Young finds out that the Doctor's antidote has been destroyed.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

Sitting with the Queen, the King expressed his frustration that they had failed to capture Prince Hyung. If they had, he had the justification to execute him. The King continued to enumerate various issues that he’d have to deal with, such as what to do with Jungdong fortress. After listening for some time, the Queen gave him a cup of tea and asked, “What is today’s worry, Your Majesty?”

He grinned at her, saying, “During the day, you moved the hearts of the statesmen, and at night you want to know the King’s thoughts?” But she only waited for his answer. He became more thoughtful and finally said, “To Choi Young, I did harm.”

“Did he get hurt?”

“In order to prevent more bloodshed, I had the General shed a great deal of blood. I fulfilled my justification, and the General paid the price. I don’t feel peaceful in my heart about it.”

At Jungdong the Yuan envoy was packing up his things as Prince Hyung looked on in frustration. The Prince was saying, “Leave? Why? Aren’t I Goryeo’s King? I have the emperor’s letter, and you, Dansa Officer, acknowledge me.”

But the envoy only told him, “Leave the country right now. Once daylight breaks, the King’s guard will come here to search for you.” The Prince continued to protest, but the envoy told him that there was really no one to keep the current king in check. So taking his advice would keep him alive, and perhaps there would come another opportunity for him to return. The envoy instructed one of his men to take the Prince to a place in Yuan where he’d be safe. He also handed Eun-soo’s instruments to the same man, telling him there was a large forge in the same place. He was to have the instruments melted there, and confirm they were entirely melted. His final words to the Prince were, “Follow him.”

Before the Prince left Goryeo, he went to Ki-chul and told him he’d tell him where Hwata’s relics were stored in the palace. In exchange, he wanted Ki-chul to avenge his grudge against the High Doctor and Choi Young. The Prince said through gritted teeth, “See that the wench and bastard are disposed of. When I return again, I want them gone.” He also told Ki-chul that “that woman” had another thing from heaven with her. There was heaven writing on it, a type of prophecy, and the writing was inside a container made from material he’d never seen. Ki-chul smiled, reminding the Prince that he hadn’t believed that there was a heaven world. But the Prince retorted, “ I don’t know if that’s heaven or someplace hidden on the land…a place like that definitely exists. That wicked chit is from there and definitely knows the future.” The Prince told Ki-chul where he’d hidden the other relics in the palace. Much to Ki-chul’s chagrin, the Prince also told him he’d burned part of the papers, but the rest were there.

That night Eun-soo examined Young’s right hand, putting her fingers through his and telling him to make a fist around them and to pull, hard. He was easily able to pull her toward him. She withdrew her fingers from his and held his hand saying, “It’s a sturdy and good hand, so it’s strange.” She told him it might be nerve-related or psychological, but she didn’t have the right equipment for that diagnosis. They were sitting on the bed, and she got up to get his sword, bringing it back and handing it to him, saying, “You said it was your teacher’s sword, right?”

“Yes.” She held it out for him to take, but instead he asked her to sit down next to him, and she did so, still holding his sword in both hands. He put one hand next to one of hers on the sword and then reached around her shoulders to hold the sword at the other end with his opposite hand, so they were both holding the sword across her lap. Looking at it, he began telling her about his famous sword, “This sword is called Precious Sword. Usually a sword gets dull as you slay people, but this sword, it doesn’t scratch even if you cut a stone. And blood doesn’t stain it easily either.” But the day before he’d seen blood on it. He pulled the sword part-way out of the scabbard with a slight ringing sound, and continued, “When you draw the sword it doesn’t make much noise either. If you see it in a dark place, it has a faint luster. Like moonlight.” As he spoke it was clear he admired the sword, almost as an entity in itself.

Looking at it, Eun-soo told him, “So I stabbed you with this.”

Lowering the sword, he added, “This devil stabbed my teacher, too.” He pushed the sword back into the scabbard, the sword again ringing slightly as he did so.

She asked, “It was very hard for you, when your teacher passed away like that, right?”

He nodded, “Yes.”

“Is that why you just kept on sleeping? To meet him in your dreams?”

He smiled slightly and told her, “First, he would show up a few times but then he never showed up again, even though I waited.”

“If you hadn’t met me, would you still be sleeping so?”

Still smiling slightly, he said, “I have no idea what I would be like if I hadn’t met Imja. None at all.” Then his smile faded. “I failed to capture the bastard that gave poison to Imja. And the one that threatened Imja, I let him go as well.” Looking down at the sword, now resting on their laps, he added in a very soft voice filled with regret, “This sword didn’t slay what it needed to slay. It keeps on slaying the pitiful things only.” They sat there together in troubled but companionable silence, pondering the dilemmas and dangers still waiting for them.

The next day the King met with his military men, including Choi Young and Ahn Jae as well as their senior staff. The King ordered them to attack and confiscate Ki-chul’s main household and six other nobles’ households, naming them as high treasoners. They were also to attack Yeongbin Hall as the head of the Pro-Yuan faction, ransacking all of it thoroughly to find Prince Hyung, the most treasonous of all of them. All the soldiers cried, “I receive your order,” and they rose from their seats to begin carrying it out.

Young, dressed in his black and white Woodalchi uniform but not carrying his sword, began to leave as well. The King called him back, asking how many days were left before the door would open and the High Doctor return to heaven.Young told him 13 days were left. The King told him to search the properties where they were looking for the Prince and then spend the rest of the day with the High Doctor. He said he’d heard about the antidote coming to naught, so he should stay with her. That last part about the antidote was news to Young, and he tried not to show the King how much it upset him. But as soon as he left the King, he asked Dae-man about it. Dae-man told him that the Doctor had told him not to tell Young, and that she had cried a lot. She had cried so much Dae-man couldn’t talk to her.

Surprised, Young asked, “She cried?” He knew she hated to cry because it made her feel weak.

But Dae-man said, “She sobbed and cried more. I never saw a person cry like that.”

Not sure what to do, he went to his aunt. She told him, “Amidst all that she was very worried about you. If you’d be all right after she left. What will happen to you if she just stayed and died in front of you. She didn’t care what would happen to her at all and was just worried about you. So I told her she should ask you in person. Did she?” It warmed his heart to hear how much Eun-soo cared about what might happen to him, but it also frustrated him that, once again, she hadn’t told him something that had happened. Most of all he was appalled that she was thinking of risking herself by staying there. What had he done by asking her to stay?

With less than a fortnight to go before the portal opened, Eun-soo was in their quarters at the barracks working with her herbal concoctions, hoping to make a new batch of antidote before she had to return. She started coughing and had to sit down. She took her pulse, wondering if the poison was already starting its deadly work.

Young couldn’t go to her yet; he still had to search for Prince Hyung. Entering the Yuan envoy’s quarters in Yeongbin Hall with several Woodalchi and once again carrying his sword, he confronted the envoy himself. He told the envoy that a black wagon belonging to the envoy was spotted leaving Jungdong the night that the fortress had been occupied by the King. Did he sneak Prince Hyung out in that wagon? The envoy nodded, replying that he had already sent the Prince to Yuan. Very unhappy but keeping his temper in check, Young told him that they’d verify it, and sent his men out to do just that. That left just Young and the envoy in the room. The envoy said, “I heard from Prince Hyung. Flying tick poison. Is that right? And you are also aware that that poison has no antidote?” Young looked uncomfortable but didn’t leave, wanting to hear what the envoy had to say. The envoy continued, “I’ve met High Doctor and I’ve confirmed she’s a heaven person.”

Young was surprised the envoy would admit that, saying, “So?”

“I let her be since she’ll die anyway. From what I know, because of that woman, you could die as well. Don’t leave that woman by your side.”

Young walked right up to the envoy, looking down at the shorter man, angrily asking, “What trick are you trying to pull?”

Seemingly unperturbed, the envoy replied, “Just a slight word of allegiance toward Goryeo.”

“I’m going to die because of the High Doctor?”

“It’s possible, I’m saying. And be careful of the Prince of the Court. That’s all I can tell you. That’s it.” Young stared hard at the envoy, but it was clear the envoy had said all that he intended. After a few moments Young turned and left. He never saw the envoy again.

Young returned as soon as he could to the barracks, ready to confront Eun-soo with what he had learned. He was in great turmoil, and he paused before entering their room to pull himself together so he wouldn’t just start shouting at her. Entering, he found the room empty. He looked into the pots on the table, seeing some fresh herbs in them but not the concoction he’d seen before. What Dae-man had told him was true, then. Her hope of an antidote had been destroyed. In despair and anger he picked up one edge of the table and threw it over, scattering all the pots and their contents.

The reason Eun-soo wasn’t in their quarters was that she had an appointment to see the Queen. She wanted to check on the Queen’s health and follow up on the Queen’s earlier questions. Eun-soo viewed Queen’s color and checked her pulse, telling her that, based on what she had learned, her pulse was very strong with no blockage. Eun-soo then took out several containers, giving them to the Queen and Lady Choi, telling them they were soap and cosmetics made with red ginseng that were even famous in heaven. Using them would make the Queen’s skin even better and she’d receive more love from the King. But the Queen’s mind was on the fact that the High Doctor would soon be leaving. She asked if she was making her farewell preparations and asked when she planned to leave for the portal. But Eun-soo didn’t reply. Instead she told the Queen that she’d answer her earlier questions about when another baby would come and what would happen to them later. Eun-soo, posed the question, “If I were to tell you your baby won’t come until 10 years later, what will you two do? Would you two not see other in the meantime?” The Queen chuckled briefly, knowing that she and the King would still love and be with each other, no matter when a child arrived. Eun-soo went on, telling her, “You two don’t get to be together for very long. No matter how hard you try, it’s less than 100 years.” The Queen chuckled again, knowing it was an evasion but nevertheless feeling reassured. Eun-soo went on, “So live and love every day, just like today.”

That was a new word for the Queen. She repeated,“ _Saranghae_ [love]?”

Eun-soo told her it meant, “Loving him so much you can’t even say it in words. Yearning for him even if you’re next to him. That is saranghae.” 

When Eun-soo left the Queen’s chambers and stepped into the corridor outside the Queen’s door, she looked up to see Young striding toward her, a serious look on his face. He didn’t reply to her greeting, “Daejang.”

Instead, he took her by the wrist and pulled her along as he went to a more private spot, where he turned her so her back was to a wall. He said quietly, “I heard you were attacked while you were in my room. The antidote you were working on is gone, and you still haven’t told me about it.” In a softer, worried voice he asked, “What are you thinking?”

She replied, “I was going to act like nothing happened.”

In answer to his puzzled, “What?” She went on.

“The antidote shattered but I will make it again.”

Even more puzzled, he asked again, “What?”

“I did get attacked but the Woodalchi protected me so I was fine. The antidote is gone but I will make it again.”

He repeated, “Make it again?” Remembering what Lady Choi told him about her thinking of staying and possibly dying, he shouted, “Can that be done before Imja dies?!”

Trying to downplay the seriousness of it, she told him, “I’m making it in order to live, so why do you talk about death? Don’t be like that, and let’s go to our room.”

She started to leave, but he held her back, his hand on her shoulder. Stricken and feeling responsible, he told her, “Once, just this once, I broke my promise. I broke the promise that I would send you back. I was greedy. Raising his voice in frustration and guilt he went on, “I knew I did not have a plan afterward, and I was not sure if I could protect you.” He lowered his voice again, saying in self-recrimination, “What have I done?”

She interrupted him, trying to help him not feel guilty since none of it was his fault, “Why do you make a promise by yourself? When I said not to?”

But he wasn’t having it. She couldn’t stay and lose her life. “What I said before. That I would ask you to stay. I take those words back. I thought wrong and I spoke wrong.”

She tried to put her hand over his, the one on her shoulder, so they could go to their room together, but he shrugged it off and told her, “I will go first.” He abruptly turned and left as she looked after him.

In a temporary hideout Yang-sa was giving Ki-chul an assessment of their financial losses. His liquid assets had already been moved to Yuan, but his property and slaves in Goryeo would be a total loss. No doubt royal soldiers were on their way to confiscate his home. But Ki-chul’s mind was obsessed by recovering Hwata’s relics. Prince Hyung had told them where he had hidden them in the King’s room. Hwa-su-in and Eum-ja knew they’d be very difficult to recover from that well-guarded place, and they didn’t see why they were even important. But Ki-chul insisted that they were his and he wanted them back. They were his only concrete link to heaven, or wherever that portal led. His minions were uncomfortable with his obsession when there were so many other things that should concern him right there in Goryeo, but he wouldn’t leave it alone. In fact, he told them he needed to meet with “that woman” again. However, they’d had no luck finding out where she was hiding. They’d have to go through Young to get to the High Doctor. Eum-ja wanted to go after him, but Hwa-su-in mentioned that something was wrong with his sword arm, and she volunteered to handle him. Meanwhile Ki-chul burned with the desire to see the High Doctor, to possess her and her knowledge as well as to learn more about heaven and how he could go there.

Later that night in the palace , Eun-soo sat by herself, remembering Young’s words to her after she had operated on him. Hardly able to stand upright, he had told her that in order to return her to heaven, they first needed to keep her alive, and she should stick to him like glue. Then she remembered how he had protected her in so many ways, going to Ki-chul’s house to rescue her, protecting her on their way to Gangwa Island, and saving her from falling down a steep riverbank. Those were just a few of the many ways he had saved her from harm. As she remembered, she gently stroked the petals of a chrysanthemum blossom that she held. Choon-sik, making his night rounds, saw her sitting there and told her it was late. He offered to escort her to the barracks. She softly replied that she’d go there later. Assuming that she and the General had had a disagreement of some sort, he tried to reassure her, telling her that Daejang didn’t express himself well and that, once she got to know him, his temper wasn’t all that bad.

Shaken by Young’s vehemence before he had left her, she gave a small smile and replied, “Well…” Feeling protective of her, Choon-sik offered to find another room for her in the barracks.

She replied, “Should I?” Choon-sik assured her he would do it. He told her that everyone had been worried that, with Daejang’s temperament, he wouldn’t give her his bed. The Woodalchi cleaning their room had seen the two chairs put together every night, assuming she’d been forced to sleep that way. They at least should put in a cot. As he spoke, she realized how much care Young had taken of her, always taking the chairs himself. Even when she insisted that he take the bed, he wanted her to lie next to him on that narrow bed rather than allow her to sleep on a chair. She smiled, stood up and asked Choon-sik to take her to the barracks. She didn’t want to leave Young even for one night. Choon-sik took her there, saying that if something troubled her, she should tell him. She felt cherished by the Woodalchi who worried about her, making her want to remain there with all of them even more.

When she entered their room, Young was standing with his back to the door and didn’t move when she entered. She quietly told him, “I’m here,” and went to take out her sleeping clothes from a small wardrobe. He finally spoke without turning around, “Tomorrow we’re leaving.”

She walked over to him and said, “No.”

Turning to look at her, he insisted, “Tomorrow. Early in the morning.”

But she said, “Earlier you told me what you want and left. So hear my words now.” He told her he’d listen. She continued, “I am going to make the antidote and stay here.”

Alarmed, he told her, “You can’t!”

But she insisted that she would, and that she would stay by his side. “I am not going to waste my days thinking about going back or not.”

He couldn’t believe she’d ignore reality, telling her, “Right now, do you know what you’re saying?”

“I do! If the work doesn’t succeed…” Her eyes filled with tears as she added, “I could die in front of your eyes.” They looked at each other for moment, both of them stunned by the import of what she was saying. She continued, “If that time comes, then be there for me. Until the last minute, hold me tight in your arms. Do not leave me alone.”

Shocked beyond words, he gave an incredulous huff and then walked out of the room, closing the doors behind him. He felt ripped apart. How could she ask that of him, to watch her die when she could live in heaven? He stopped just outside the door, wanting to yell at her, scream with frustration, and sob with remorse and grief all at once. Finally pulling himself back together, he came back in. Once again he tried to bend her to his will for her own good, telling her, “Pack your stuff. Right now. We’re going there and wait in front of it until the door opens.”

Tired of him trying to impose his will, she shouted, “I’m not going anywhere, I said. I’m just going to stay here!”

He yelled back at her, “Must I forcibly tie you up and carry you there?”

“And then? You send me back. And then? Did you think about what I would be like? Did you think about me?”

“But Imja can live there, you said.”

With tears in her eyes and her voice quavering, she replied, “Yes, I would live. In my room in the heaven world. I would just live. Day after day. Face people I don’t know. Clamor away the day saying things I don’t mean. Then at night I’ll go back to my room where nobody welcomes me. When I go to sleep I would call your name, and ask, ‘Are you there?’ I’ll know there isn’t such a thing as an answer. Then when I awake in the morning, I’d live that same day again, like a dead person. Do you know what it is like to live like that?” She paused before adding in a whisper, “But you do. Because you’d be like that too.”

After a moment he responded, “These few days while Imja is dying, I couldn’t even be by your side. Instead of searching for medicine to save my woman, I was killing people!” He shouted in self-recrimination, “How can someone like me protect Imja? How can I tell you to stay with me?” She looked down and saw his right hand. It was shaking with tremors. Tears rolled down her face as she took that precious hand in hers and held it to her heart. Then she sobbed aloud, realizing what he’d been going through, how hard it had been for him, wanting to be with and protect her while having to slaughter others for the King, feeling repulsed by his own actions. She was filled with love for him. He was such an honorable man who not only loved her but would sacrifice himself to protect her without a moment’s hesitation. She knew she could never leave him no matter what he said. As for him, he finally began to understand that trying to force her to leave wouldn’t work. She fully intended to stay and love him to the end.


	45. Episode 23, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young tries to persuade the Doctor to return to her world when the portal opens, and prepares to accompany her to the portal. Ki Chul offers to go to prison if he can talk with the Doctor. Eun-soo discovers a possible way to cure herself.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

The next day both Young and Eun-soo were busy, but his hand continued preying on Young's mind. So after dinner that evening, he told Eun-soo that he had some business at the palace. Eun-soo stayed in their room, and while checking on her newly brewing antidote mixture, she noticed a basket of apples sitting on a small table. They were much smaller than the apples she’d known in Seoul, but they were quite tasty. Someone had evidently given them to Young, or he had encountered a peddler and bought some, knowing how much she liked them. She smiled, thinking that she’d take two of them and go meet him at the palace, then they could munch their apples on the way back to their room together. She hoped it would soothe him, understanding how much he blamed himself for not having been able to prevent her original antidote from being destroyed. It was a beautiful night with a nearly full moon, and she thought she’d take a roundabout path to the palace through the garden, so she could enjoy the scents and shapes of flowers in the soft light. On her way, polishing the apples with her skirt as went, she passed the Martial Art Field where the Woodalchi and other guards regularly practiced. She heard the sound of a sword occasionally biting into a wooden post. She stopped to listen, wondering why anyone would be practicing at night, and heard heavy breathing, someone puffing with effort. She turned and went there, curious who that might be, perhaps a conscientious Woodalchi cadet trying to work in some extra sword practice. But there, in the moon’s soft light, she saw Young, all alone, twirling, slashing and thrusting with his sword. He was switching the hand that held the sword as he practiced, first the right, then the left, then the right again. After a few minutes, just after he switched again from the left to the right hand, she saw the sword fly out of his grasp and land on the ground several feet away. Young made a disgusted noise as he went to pick it up again, and resumed practicing, this time holding the sword in both hands. He panted with effort as he worked, as though he were lifting a weight much heavier than a sword. Eun-soo hid herself behind a post, not wanting to interfere but feeling sad to see him struggling so much. Young continued wielding the sword two-handed for a time, and then began to switch hands. But once again the sword slid out of his right hand. He initially reached out with his right hand to pick it up, but then hesitated. Eun-soo, wondering if this was more than a physical problem, stepped out from the post and called, “Daejang!” and threw one of the apples toward his right hand. Surprised but without a second’s hesitation, he reflexively reached out and caught the apple firmly in that hand. Then she threw the other apple and he easily caught it in his other hand. He stared at both of the apples. As long as he wasn’t conscious about what he was doing, his hands seemed to work perfectly.

They walked back to the barracks together, Young mostly silent. He recalled again that terrible meeting between the King and his Red Crescent Moon soldiers, how his master had restrained Young from intervening in the King’s drunken anger, deliberately seeking his own death at the King’s hand because he faced the same problem that Young was now experiencing. Once they returned to their room, Eun-soo insisted on examining Young's right hand. She asked him to sit down while she soaked and wrung out a cloth dipped in cold water and placed it around his hand to help reduce inflammation. She took his wrist pulse and then held a few fingers to his neck to take a second pulse there. Then, leaving the cloth wrapped around his hand, she went behind him and massaged his neck and shoulders to see if she could feel anything that might explain the problem. She asked, "So you don't have a headache?" He said he didn't. As she continued to massage him, she speculated, "Even though I couldn't examine you properly, looking at your condition so far, it's not your hand but your mind that's shaking."

Shaking or not, his mind focused again on protecting her and getting her to leave for her own good. He also couldn’t stand the thought of her staying and dying; he wasn't sure how he would live if that happened. Trying to order her hadn't worked, so he decided to try persuasion. He lifted her hand from his shoulder and gently brought her around to sit down again facing him. Taking both of her hands in his, he told her, "I have confirmed that the Dansa officer and his people have already left for Yuan. It doesn't look like he will be coming back." Eun-soo nodded as he went on, "But as long as people know about this place, I still feel nervous. So for the remaining time..." At his mention of "remaining time," Eun-soo looked away in silent protest, thinking that he was going to try to get her to leave again. He quietly asked, "Look at me." When she didn't raise her head, he asked again, "Look at me now." She sighed in frustration and did as he asked. He went on, "You had asked if I'd be all right if you leave. Remember that?"

“I remember.”

Looking intently at her, he said, “I will be okay. I’ll eat well. I’ll sleep well. As time passes, I will also forget. I will probably not think of Imja again.” As those words left his lips she looked down again, knowing them for the lie they were. But he forged on, hoping to convince her, “So, don’t worry about me and go back to your world.” She stood up and went to soak the cloth again while he continued, “After you return, even though it will be difficult at first, it will get better. Because you’re such a strong person. That’s what I believe.”

She stood at the water bowl, feeling what that would be like for her. She replied, “It doesn’t seem like I’d be fine if I go back. I won’t be okay by myself, so I might start looking for you again. If I can’t find the door that you came from, I may wander around in a strange world.”

In a soft voice he pled with her, “Please don’t do that.” There was no answer. Then in a firmer voice he demanded, “Answer me now. That you wouldn’t do that.” She didn’t reply. Young closed his eyes in frustration, admitting defeat for the moment. Then, because he yearned for her so very much, he told her, “For the remaining time, I will stay by you as much as I can. Because I’m worried about you. And I will try to make you laugh, although I’m not very good at it.” A wry smile began to grow on her face at that last comment. She would enjoy having the very serious Daejang try to amuse her.

Later that day Young met with the King and other Woodalchi to report on the property confiscation of nobles who had supported the rebellion, including the house of Ki Chul. Young reported that all was proceeding as planned. Prince Hyung had already fled, officials were arresting all of his remaining private soldiers, and they were searching for escaped family members of Ki Chul. He thought they hadn’t yet left Goryeo. They were also reinforcing the borders. They didn’t want Ki-chul to be able to cross into Yuan and meet with his sister, Empress Ki. The King nodded his approval and then placed another order in front of Young for the capture of some additional Yuan supporters. To do that he thought they could use Ki Chul’s private soldiers that had just been arrested. Most of them would be glad for the employment. But Young didn’t respond. When the King asked him, “Ho-gun [Commanding General]?” Young asked to speak to the King in private.

When everyone else had left the two of them alone, Young began, “It seems that I am following the footsteps of my teacher.

Puzzled, the King asked, “What do you mean?”

“A few days before my teacher passed away, I saw him drop his sword.” As Young spoke, the King immediately recalled seeing Young drop his sword several days before. Young went on, “At that time, I did not know what that meant.”

“What does it mean?”

“It seems it is time for me to put down the sword. It is getting more and more difficult to lift it.” Shocked, the King stood up. Young stood as well and continued, “Seven days from now, I am leaving to send the High Doctor off. I will serve you until that day.”

The King replied, “Since I had already told you to stay with High Doctor until then, go ahead and do so.” He paused for a moment and then looked directly at Young, saying, “I will keep waiting for you, so keep that in mind too.” Surprised that the King would still want him in his service, Young simply bowed his head.

After his talk with the King, Young stopping carrying his sword but didn’t stop serving the King. He gathered the Woodalchi and announced that they were going to lead the raid and clean-up of Ki Chul’s household. He thought that Ki Chul and his servants had probably taken the most valuable things already, but whatever was left should be gathered together in an orderly fashion for the kingdom. He asked Choon-sik to coordinate the task, and then called the names of Dol-bae, Deok-man, and Yoo Eun-soo. The first two immediately responded when he called their names, but not Eun-soo. Everyone looked at her, but she wasn’t used to hearing her name called out. He raised his voice and said, “Answer me!” She quickly replied with a soft, “Yes.” He told the three of them to escort him.

The Woodalchi, led by Dol-bae and Deok-man with Young and Eun-soo following close behind, entered Ki Chul’s house. Not accustomed to Woodalchi discipline, Eun-soo found herself looking around and going slower than the others, recalling her own time there. Seeing her lag behind, Young reached back and took her by the hand, pulling her along with him and the rest of the troop. They came to Ki Chul’s office, and while the others began rounding up papers and decorations, Eun-soo began pulling out drawers, searching. Young told her, “We’ve searched for the relic box over and over. It’s gone.” She reluctantly stopped, and he turned to Dol-bae and Deok-man, telling them to keep searching that room for items that might be of. Then he told Eun-soo, “We will go this way.” He turned and left the room with Eun-soo following close behind. Both Deok-man and Dol-bae grinned at each other to see the couple walk off together.

Young and Eun-soo went outside and four other Woodalchi placed themselves in guard positions near the couple. They strolled along the same portico where, months earlier, Young had come to visit Eun-soo to see if she had given her heart to Ki Chul. She found herself remembering that time and how relieved she had been to see that Young was all right after having been accused of treason and imprisoned. He had looked so handsome when he had come there, dressed in blue with his hair bound up on one side by a bandana, that she had caught her breath when she first saw him. Not daring to show Ki Chul that she cared, she had only briefly grasped Young’s silk sleeve when talking to him, telling him how worried she had been. 

She had stopped walking as she remembered that earlier meeting. Young turned to her with a considerate expression on his face, noting, “You said you liked your stay here.”

She smiled and teased, “Ah…they gave me a lot of food, and nice clothes…”

“I knew you liked the food but you like clothes, too?”

“Of course, especially pretty and expensive clothes.”

Wanting to learn more and fishing for a compliment, he asked, “What else do you like?”

“I like windy days. I like rainy days, too. I like the moment right before the rain starts to fall. Then when the rain drops on my forehead …Ah! it makes me look up at the sky like this.”

“And what else?”

“Um…yellow mums.” Looking over at Young, she added the colors he was wearing, gray and blue, and then went silent as she told herself, “ _And a tall man. And big hands like yours._ ”

Not having heard the last part, Young was a little disappointed that she hadn’t said anything about him. He asked, “Is that all you like?” As he spoke she had just added, again silently, “ _And that voice._ ”

Aloud, she told him, “I know, right? I guess my greed has shrunk. What about you? What do you like?” He thought for a moment and then placed his hand on her shoulder and removed it after a moment, feeling a little embarrassed by even that small display of affection in front of his men.

The mood was broken when Young spied a suspicious looking man with a bundle, walking across the large courtyard. Young told Dol-bae to stay with Eun-soo, then ran to find the man as he went around a corner. By then the man was running to escape but came to a sudden halt as Young came around the opposite corner to confront him. Young roughly turned him so he could examine the bundle on his back and found a large knife, almost a short sword. Holding it up in his right hand, he asked the man, “What kind of servant carries something like this around? Did Prince of the Court send you?” Before the man could answer, the knife fell out of Young’s hand. The man began running as Young looked down at the knife on the ground, momentarily distracted. By the time Young came around the corner where the man had run, he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was Eun-soo where he had left her, now with four Woodalchi gathered around her, smiling and listening to another one of her stories. Young closed his eyes and took a big breath, glad she was all right but chagrined at letting the man escape.

Young went up to the group, interrupting the conversation. He asked Choon-sik to take charge of the rest of the gathering of goods at the residence. Choon-sik, replied, “Yes… What about you?”

Young replied, “I’m busy.” Then he took Eun-soo’s hand and left the group with her in tow. The rest of the men chuckled.

In a house where they were hiding in Gae Kyeong, Yang-sa presented Ki Chul with a small box containing two small balls of medicine, saying, “I’m telling you again, this is the last resort. Ki Chul nodded his understanding as Yang-sa went on, “Though this medicine can double your inner energy and give you the strength of a demon, it can only last a few hours. And the side effects are severe.” Ki Chul nodded again that he understood.

Just then, Hwa-su-in came with good news, “That wench…we know where she is!” Ki Chul leaped to his feet in his excitement. Now they just had to plan how to bring her to them.

At nearly the same time, Young and Eun-soo had returned from Ki Chul’s mansion to their room in the Woodalchi barracks. While Young unfastened the back of Eun-soo’s armor and then helped her remove it, he told her, “It is now safe to assume that the Prince of the Court knows that you’re here.”

“So what do we do? Run away? Hide?”

Young surprised her by saying, “Let’s go have some fun.”

She turned to him with a smile and asked, “What did you just say…Daejang?”

He repeated, “Let’s go have some fun. Is there anything you want?”

Eun-soo’s mouth fell open, and with wide eyes she said, “You’re … going to buy me something?”

“Do you need more clothes?”

Eun-soo knew Young’s father had died when he was only 16 years old, and besides, families of scholars weren’t typically rich. So she asked, “Do you have…any money?”

Young told her that he probably had a lot, because he’d never claimed his salary in the seven years he’d been a Woodalchi. Military commanders in Goryeo were paid both in coin and in land and crop values, so he was very likely a rich man. The King’s two promotions had also added to his wealth. Young had never bothered to check on the amount.

In the back of her mind she remembered how she had told the fortune teller that she wanted both a handsome and a rich man. And here he was, right in front of her. With growing excitement she asked him, “Then…can I ask you to buy me all sorts of things?” He nodded. She added, “Clothes, shoes, jewelry, things like that?” He nodded again. Her eyes shining, she asked, “When?”

“Right after I delegate some work to the guys.” He saw that she had clasped her hands in front of her mouth in delight. Pleased to have made her smile, he smiled back at her, asking, “Are you that happy?” She eagerly nodded and began getting some clothes out of a chest to wear for their trip to the market. While she did that, he went over to the pots where her hoped-for antidote was fermenting. Looking at them, he asked her, “You haven’t given up yet, right?”

Occupied with her clothes, she asked, “On what?”

“Making your antidote…and staying in this world.”

She turned to him, saying, “Just you wait…I’m going to show you I can do it.”

“You never give up on anything, do you?”

She told him forcefully, “That’s why you’d better get used to it. Stop resisting.” The Daejang had met his match in terms of will. But he still worried.

In the palace, the King was reading a large scroll at his desk. On the other side of the room, the Queen, Lady Choi and Do-chi were engaged in an animated albeit whispered discussion. Wondering what was so interesting, he clapped the scroll on the desk to get their attention and said, “You all must be discussing something very important.”

The Queen approached him with a tentative smile and asked, “Your Majesty, wouldn’t you like to go out and do some painting?”

Curious, the King asked, “Go out and…paint?”

“Yes. You would need protection while you’re outside, so I want the Woodalchi General to guard you. I think the High Doctor should come, too, as the high wind might give me a cold…so…well…those two don’t have many more days left together. And the High Doctor has to hide in the barracks everyday…and the General is busy…” The Queen ran out of words and she turned to Lady Choi for additional support.

Lady Choi added, “Your Majesty has been working so hard day and night, lately. Perhaps taking a break would be good.”

The King commented, “I guess they couldn’t find an antidote.” The Queen said that was true, and the King added, “Then, she will have to go back. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to the General afterward.” Most of them knew of Young’s feelings for the High Doctor. Even though he maintained a stoic demeanor, he couldn’t keep the love from his face when he was with her or from his voice when he spoke of her.

Lady Choi, a bit of a stoic herself, told the King, “A General’s heart would not shake for just a woman.”

But the King rebuked her, saying, “You don’t know your own nephew’s heart? To him, she is not just a woman. Before he met her, I was just one of the kings that he had to guard. But after he met her, he started to treat me as a real person.” Lady Choi bowed in acknowledgement.

Later than day, just as he had promised, Young took Eun-soo into town to do some shopping. They wore plain clothing and Eun-soo wore her hair piled on top of her head to minimize how much of its fiery color showed, knowing Ki Chul’s minions were still looking for her. Dae-man and Dol-bae followed discretely behind, and a few of the Suribang also kept an eye on the pair from in front of them. They strolled down a street specializing in clothing, with stalls on either side selling everything from cloth to hats to clasps, as well as shops selling entire outfits. Eun-soo happily looked around, almost overwhelmed with all the choices available to her, stopping frequently to look over the many offerings. More than once Young found Eun-soo no longer beside him. Turning around, he’d see her some way back at a street vender’s stall, fingering cloth or accessories and eagerly asking questions of the seller. With a sigh, he’d go back to get her. Deciding that buying things piecemeal would take several days, he spied a clothing shop and suggested they go there. They went in, Young stopping just inside the entrance, uncomfortable in what clearly was women’s territory. But Eun-soo was in her element, losing no time starting to look over the store’s offerings with the shop’s owner, examining this piece and that and then holding each of them up, asking Young how he liked it and if that color suited her. She often stopped to ask the owner how she would wear a particular piece of clothing that was unfamiliar to her. She tried on several pieces, including robes, tunics, skirts and cloaks, asking Young’s opinion of each. He thought she was beautiful in everything and struggled to answer when she asked him to compare one outfit with another, as she tried to select the single best outfit to purchase. Finally, impatient with all the questions and decisions she was trying to make, Young told the owner that they’d take everything she’d tried on. Eun-soo was aghast, asking, “Are you sure?” while the owner beamed with pride and basked in the glow of a sale that was more than she typically made in months. The owner offered to deliver Eun-soo’s treasure trove of clothing once her seamstresses made a few alterations, but Young told her he’d send someone to pick them up. He went to the store’s entrance and motioned to Dae-man, who’d been loitering nearby. Dae-man came in, paid for the purchases from a money pouch Young had asked him to carry. When Dae-man opened the pouch, he was stunned to see several silver pieces, and all Eun-soo's purchases were paid for by just one of them. 

After leaving the clothing shop, Young turned down another street with Eun-soo on his arm to begin heading back to the palace. On that street were several vendors of accessories and jewelry, and Eun-soo, still bubbling with delight over her clothing purchases, stopped at several stalls to look over their wares. Meanwhile, Young noticed they were being followed by someone. The man looked away and appeared to be shopping whenever Young casually looked around, but stayed a few dozen feet behind them. Young pulled Eun-soo closer to him, putting his arm around her shoulder. But soon she pulled away and went over to a nearby stall in front of a long wall, having spied some accessories that stood out to her. When he caught up she held up a small piece of jewelry, thinking it would look quite smashing on him. It fit around the ear with a small jewel hanging down, but when she went to put it on him, he grabbed her wrist, telling her, “I don’t wear things like that.”

She smiled with a wicked gleam in her eye and replied, “I remember how handsome you looked with a flower there,” and they both smiled at the memory, when she had teased him by setting a marigold behind his ear on Gangwha island. His smile soon faded, though, as the recollection also brought back the tragedy of the young prince. She put the ear ornament down, shrugging good naturedly at his refusal, and then held up a hair ornament for herself, trying it on and asking him how he liked it on her. He saw another piece he liked better, picked it up and gave it to her to try on. Nodding in satisfaction, Young bought it for her. While the vendor wrapped it, Young stood behind Eun-soo and, glancing around, saw that the man following them was now accompanied by several others who were slowly approaching.

Young turned back to see Eun-soo take her package and told her in a quiet voice, “Imja, when I say, ‘Now!’ run toward the wall.” She had hardly begun to nod to let him know she heard him when he shouted, “Now!”

He whirled around to face the men, catching a quick glance as he did so of Eun-soo already starting to head toward the wall. He still carried a knife in his boot but preferred to have both hands free as he faced the men who suddenly rushed toward him. One of them was faster than the others and tried to go past him to capture Eun-soo. Young leapt toward him and threw him into a vendor’s stall that collapsed as the man fell into it, leaving the would-be attacker sprawled in a heap and being decorated liberally with falling hair ornaments and other accessories. Young immediately turned to face four of the man's companions, two of whom held knives. Seeing men with weapons, other people on the street yelled and retreated. The attackers realized they’d have to deal with Young before getting to Eun-soo, and given what he'd just done with their friend, discovered he was quite a bit more lively than they had anticipated. Forming a semi-circle around him to hem him in, one knife wielder attacked and Young kicked out with one of his long legs, knocking the knife from the man's hand, then grabbed him and threw him against one of his companions, dropping both of them to the ground. Before they could get back up, he twirled and took the other knife wielder's arm from the side and twisted it behind him, breaking his arm. The last man, seeing what was happening to the others, tried to flee but was apprehended by Dol-bae and Dae-man, who had seen the fight break out and came running. Eun-soo had plastered herself against the wall with Young between her and the attackers, and the Suribang’s Ji Hul and Ji Ho had already arrived to protect her. Once the attackers had been disabled or apprehended, the street crowd gathered around them, hurling curses at the criminals as the Woodalchi tied them up with rope from a nearby shop. It was bad for everyone’s business on that street for shoppers to be attacked. Upon questioning, the men admitted they had seen the clothing store owner excitedly telling someone about the rich couple who’d just bought a year’s worth of clothing. They were only opportunistic ruffians, hoping to capture Eun-soo and then make the rich man with her or her relatives pay them to let her go. Leaving the attackers to the tender mercies of the Woodalchi, the couple quickly returned to the barracks. Later Eun-soo admonished Young with a smile, saying, “Next time, don’t buy everything in the store!”

Sometime later, Hwa-su-in returned to the hideout she shared with Ki Chul and his other minions. She first complained about the shabbiness of the house where they’d taken refuge, asking if they couldn’t just go to Yuan, where he had another mansion. Yang-sa replied that he’d chosen it for its safe location. Then she reported that everything was prepared, and not to worry about Choi Young; he wasn't using his sword. Ki Chul asked if the High Doctor was with him, and she chuckled as she replied, “Like peas and carrots. I heard they were even together out on the street today." Ki Chul thought about his next steps. He’d just sent messengers to his sister the Empress, but it would take far too long for her to send him help. He’d have to act on his own. He decided to go to the palace himself, straight to the King.

At the newly reopened Royal Medical Hospital, Deo-ki brought in a tray in which she’d planted some baby herbs. She set the tray down and looked over at Dr. Jang’s desk, where she saw a few tools sitting on top. She folded a cloth over them, intending to return them to the desk drawer underneath. But when she opened the drawer, there was a book that she hadn’t seen before. The title on the cover said it was a daily record of research. She took it out and began to browse through it. She recognized that it was Dr. Jang’s research into the poison that Prince Hyung had injected into Eun-soo. She took the book to Eun-soo, but since she couldn’t read Chinese characters, they took it to Lady Choi, who read it briefly, then closed the book with a resigned look on her face. She told them that it wasn’t an antidote. Instead it described the possibility of using a similar poison to fight the first poison. Dr. Jang had written that it was highly risky, and Lady Choi thought that was why he hadn’t mentioned it to the High Doctor. Eun-soo disagreed, saying that it wasn’t total nonsense. In heaven there were people studying that sort of thing, and she’d even gone to a few seminars on the topic. Still, Lady Choi thought it was too dangerous. As Eun-soo contemplated the idea of trying something like that, her thoughts turned to Young. He was going through a major transition in his life and she would not leave him to face it alone. Aloud, Eun-soo told her that Young didn’t take his sword with him anymore, and that she was afraid of what he’d let go of next. When he had returned from the battle at Jungdong, she had asked him why he dropped his sword on the floor like it didn’t mean anything. It had always seemed like part of his arm. He had told her, “I think it’s gotten heavy. Is it possible for a sword to get heavy all of the sudden?” Now the sword only sat in its cradle, hanging on the wall of his room.

That night as Eun-soo slept, Young uneasily prowled the room. He stared at his sword on its cradle for a time, stood over the pots where the antidote was brewing, and then took out and looked at a sheet of paper where Eun-soo had marked off the number of days until the door to heaven would open. He went over to the bed and adjusted the covers over her and sat down next to her. Worried about the timing between when she’d begin to die of the poison and when the portal would open, he put his hand on her forehead and then touched his own forehead for comparison, checking for a fever. There wasn’t one yet. He moved closer to her and put his hand out to stroke her hair lovingly, then simply gazed at her face. He couldn’t be at peace.

Finally Young went outside behind the barracks where his Vice-General was viewing the training of the new recruits, who practiced day and night to gain the skills necessary for a Woodalchi. Choon-sik reported to him that the new recruits weren’t as skillful as their usual raw recruits, owing to the fact that the King had ordered them to increase the overall number of Woodalchi. That meant they took some recruits who normally wouldn’t have made the cut. And there were also some class conflicts among the recruits. But Young simply took a small book out of his jacket and handed it to Choon-sik, telling him it was a rough draft, and to check it. It was a plan for developing a new 1,000-man military group that the King had ordered. It included recommendations for dividing them into four groups, a hierarchy, a training plan, and supplies needed. Choon-sik was surprised that Young himself had written the entire document. Young asked him to give it to the King. Choon-sik wondered aloud why the General wouldn’t be giving it to the King himself, but the Young simply dismissed him and left, divesting himself of one more obligation.

Dol-bae had seen the General come to the training field and followed him when he left. Dol-bae called to him, and Young stopped as Dol-bae caught up. Outside of Dae-man, who was the General’s shadow, Young was as close to Dol-bae as anyone else in the Woodalchi. They were the best fighters in the Woodalchi, Young with his sword, and Dol-bae with his spear-like ji. They had trusted their lives to each other countless times, most recently at Jungdong. Now, Dol-bae saw his commander withdrawing more and more from the Woodalchi and asked him, “Daejang, it shouldn’t matter.”

“About what?”

“Your hand. I don’t know what’s wrong but…”

Young looked irritated and responded defensively, “Have you been telling people about my hand?”

“No. Of course not.”

“So?”

“I saw you drop your sword at Jungdong.”

“So what?”

“Your hand shouldn’t matter. Can’t you stay as our Daejang? If you need a hand, I’ll be next to you.” Looking at his ji, he added, “This can become your hand.”

This was the second person to tell him he didn’t need to personally wield a sword in order to serve the King. Inwardly touched but outwardly his usual stoic self, Young looked at him for a moment and then reached over and rapped him soundly on the head. Dol-bae cried out in pain as Young told him, “You can’t protect anything if you do that. Just protect your own head.” Young didn’t want anyone risking their life for him.

As Young turned to leave, Dae-man came running to tell him that the “weird high and mighty guy” had unexpectedly come to the palace and was asking for Young.

Ki Chul stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the palace entrance corridor, with his pledged siblings on either side of him. As Young approached, Ki Chul growled, “There you are. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Young addressed them, “Ki Chul, leader of treason, and the two murderers responsible for the death of the Royal doctor and breaking out of prison. You are under arrest. Take their weapons.” He noticed Dol-bae suddenly thrust his ji out toward the deadly trio, which worried him. Evidently Dol-bae was determined to protect him in spite of their conversation.

Ki Chul arrogantly stepped up to Young and told him, “I’ll walk into prison myself. Just let me see the High Doctor.”

Young was incredulous. “You’re turning yourself in just to see the High Doctor?”

“Isn’t that great for you? My pledged siblings are not very easy to deal with. I suspect fighting the three of us would be too much…for your current condition.” Young had to admit to himself that Ki Chul had a point.

Eun-soo was feeling her forehead, checking for a fever, when Deok-man came to the door and told her the King and Queen were having an outing and wanted her and Daejang to attend. But just then Young came to the door and pulled Deok-man back, out of his way. Closing the doors behind him, Young told her, “If you don’t want to, just say so.” Confused, she asked what he meant. He replied, “The Prince of the Court wants to see you. Are you going to see him?” Once he had explained the situation, she readily agreed.

Young and Eun-soo entered the dungeon and walked down the steps to Ki Chul’s cell, Young leading the way. Young turned and asked her, “Will you be alright?”

“You’ll be by my side, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll be fine.”

The guards opened the first set of doors to Ki Chul’s prison cell and Young went up to a grate on the inner doors to see him, bound in iron chains, hand and foot. When Ki Chul caught sight of Young, he got up and shuffled as far as he could toward the door. He told Young, “Now I remember. Before, weren’t we in this same place, but in reverse roles?”

“That’s right.”

“I should have killed you then.” He snarled, “What a wasted opportunity.”

Ignoring the other man's comment, Young told him, “She is here. I will bring her forward as long as you treat her respectfully.”

Ki Chul promised, “Yes, I will, I will be fully respectful.” Young momentarily disappeared and went to Eun-soo, standing aside while she approached the grate in the cell door. Then he stood beside her as support.

Ki Chul’s eyes brightened as he saw Eun-soo. He told her, “Do you know how much I’ve been looking for you?!”

“I know. And that’s why you even caused Dr. Jang’s death.”

Almost apologetic, Ki Chul answered, “Uh, my pledged siblings have a hard time controlling themselves. Please forgive them.” He looked up at Eun-soo with an ingratiating smile that only confirmed to Eun-soo and Young how lightly he had taken the doctor’s death. He paused for a moment, and began, “I have a sickness of the heart. Can’t you heal me, since you are heaven’s doctor?”

“Go on.”

“Aren’t you truly from the heavens?”

“I’m not.”

Ki Chul was so shocked by her answer he took a step forward, causing her to back away from the grate, but he was held by his chains and couldn’t move any closer. He asked, “Then…where are you from?”

“I’m from the world of tomorrow.” He didn’t appear to understand, so she continued, “From today, more than 600 years from today. The world of the future. So basically, the children of today’s people will grow, and have their own children, and so on. A world from that future.”

Understanding at last where she had come from, Ki Chul almost whispered, “If I go there, can I be cured?”

“Where do you feel the pain?”

He spoke from his heart, “I have already been in possession of all there is to have in this world. All things tasty, beautiful and rare. And yet, I’ve still been hungry all this time. So hungry that I’ve changed out the king. So hungry that I’ve gouged out the eyes of men. But I’m still hungry, and it’s making my body ill. If I go to that other world, can I be cured?”

She replied, “If that is the illness, it will be difficult. Because there are more people who are sick like you. They all become hungrier as they gain more…”

Ki Chul angrily interrupted her, “You are trying to fool me again!” You said that there were carriages that flew in the sky in that place!” Eun-soo agreed that was true, but he cried, “How can people who live in such a place and have such things…How can they still be hungry?!”

Eun-soo and Young only looked at Ki Chul with mingled repugnance and pity; there was no medicine that would cure his illness.


	46. Episode 23, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor tries an alternative treatment for her poisoning. Ki Chul and his minions cause trouble at the palace. Choi Young confronts Ki Chul in the throne room.

**Gae Kyeong, Capital of Goryeo**

After their disturbing conversation with Ki Chul, Eun-soo and Young looked forward to the King’s outing. Before they arrived, the others had already gathered. The King sat at a table with his drawing materials on it. He had decided to draw a portrait of the Queen, and the two of them gazed fondly at each other as she sat on the chair to pose for him. Lady Choi and Do-chi doted on the royal couple, pleased to see them take such pleasure in each other. It was a happy occasion.

As Young and Eun-soo walked through the palace grounds, Young reached for Eun-soo’s hand but she avoided him. He reached again with the same result. Finally he grabbed her hand and held it as they walked, but shortly he looked down at their joined hands and stopped; her hand was hot. He put his hand to her forehead and asked, already knowing the answer, “You have a fever, don’t you?” That’s why she had avoided taking his hand.

Looking down, she admitted, “A bit.”

“Since when?” She told him it had started earlier that morning. Alarmed, he said, “You can’t already be this way. But there is still time left … After the fever comes, you only have seven days to live...”

She replied, already aware of the timing, “That’s what Dr. Jang and others said.”

His voice filled with horror, Young said, “But there are too many days left for heaven’s door to open! So even if we leave now…”

She had tried to interrupt him before, but finally insisted, “Listen, will you?! My fever is still mild. So before it gets too late, there’s something I need to do. Since once the high fever kicks in, it won’t matter.”

Hearing a shred of hope in what she said, he asked, “Is there something that can be tried?”

“I’m going to try it later tonight, but I need help.”

In a mixture of hope and anxiety, he asked her, “You’re sure there’s something you can do?” She nodded with an encouraging smile that she didn’t entirely feel. It would be a big gamble.

But Eun-soo didn’t want to dwell on her dilemma. She had been looking forward to seeing the royal couple, and she asked him, “For now…until tonight, please let my mind be at peace.” He quickly agreed, as it was something he could do for her. But she went on, “Daejang, you must be at peace for my heart to be at peace.”

He immediately replied, “Yes. What else?” She told him that was all. He gazed at her for a moment and then took her into a close embrace. They nestled into one another, taking and giving what comfort they could.

They started walking again and came to the garden where the royal couple sat, the King drawing while the Queen posed in her chair. Eun-soo stopped Young for a moment so she could just gaze at people she had come to love: the King and Queen, Lady Choi, and Do-chi. Even Dol-bae was there, guarding the King. As they stood there, the King spied them, squinting at them from the sun in his eyes, and the Queen turned and smiled when she saw them. Both Young and Eun-soo bowed to the royal couple in greeting.

Soon afterward the King finished a rough sketch of the Queen’s portrait, and most of them gathered around to look at it as Do-chi explained that the King would fill in the color later. A little apart from the group admiring the portrait, the King sat on a wall and Young joined him. The King asked how the Prince of the Court was, and Young replied that he was ill. The King knew of the man's insatiable hunger of the heart; Ki Chul had himself once referred to it during a meeting.

Before the King could say more, Young said to him, “Your Majesty, I don’t want to think about that man right now, because I need my heart to be at peace. That is what she has asked of me. So please allow me to do that.”

He turned to the King for his answer, and the King agreed, “Then let it be.” They continued to sit in companionable silence for a time, gazing at their women and enjoying the sunny day. Finally, Do-chi folded up the sketch and the four of them looked back at the King and Young where they sat.

The Queen said to Eun-soo, “The General is still watching you. You love him, don’t you?” She used the word that Eun-soo had taught her, “ _saranghae_.”

While her gaze lingered on Young, Eun-soo smiled and breathed softly, “Yes.”

“Did you already tell him? What that means?”

Eun-soo sighed, “The General doesn’t really like learning the language of the heavens.” After a short pause she made a request of the other three. She asked them to go over to where the King and Young sat, adding. “I just want to remember all of you together.” They were happy to do so, and they went over to the two men while Eun-soo stayed where she was. Young stood at one end of the group, unsmiling, and Eun-soo playfully put a finger to her lips and drew a smile on her face. Young’s lips curved into a slight smile at her request, although not enough to show the charming dimples that appeared on the rare occasions when he grinned or laughed. She continued to gaze at all of them for several moments; it would be a precious memory.

Meanwhile, Ki Chul spoke aloud from his prison cell, knowing that Eum-ja, who was in a nearby cell, would hear him. “Are you listening to what I’m saying? Tomorrow there will be a royal questioning at the main hall in the palace. I will probably be summoned there by myself. During that time you will take care of the matters we discussed, find my belongings, and then come for me. I will be with the King.”

As the afternoon wore on, Eun-soo waited in the Royal Medical Office for a delivery. At last Deok-man brought a small container that contained Nokju poison, the poison similar to the one affecting her. Deok-man told her, “I was told this is a very dangerous substance, and you must take caution. Even the smallest amount will lead to immediate death.”

Thanking him, Eun-soo told him she knew how poisonous it was, and that she would be diluting it 1000 times and use it that way. Once he had left, she scraped away the wax that sealed the container and opened it to find another, very small container. Inside it was a greenish paste. She took a tiny bit of it on the end of a needle and put it into a small pitcher where she and Deo-ki would dilute it several times over. A little later Lady Choi came by and asked her, “Are you really going to go through with this? Do my words matter so little to you? That is poison that kills. You’re already poisoned, but you’re going to add to it?”

Eun-soo began to explain that there was science and logic behind what she was doing. But just then Young arrived, looking for her. He had overheard some of what Lady Choi had said and asked her, “What is it? What did I just hear about another poison?!”

She calmly explained, “This is it. What I said I needed to do this evening. What I needed your help with.” She asked him, “Will you help me and be by my side?”

From his expression and anxious eyes, Eun Soo could see that she and Young needed to talk privately, so they went to their room. She sat at their table while Young leaned over and asked, “So you are going to drink poison? To overcome poison?!”

“Yes.”

“And what are the chances of success?”

She looked up at him and said, “To be honest, I have no idea. I’m the first person to test this.” He huffed incredulously and stood erect, looking away from her to try to gather himself. She went on, “But I can tell you this. If I just sat here and didn’t try anything, and the real fever starts…that will be the end.”

Young pulled out the calendar she’d made with the days crossed off until the portal opened. Opening the folded paper, he put it down in front of her, saying, “Doesn’t this show the marked days until heaven’s door will open?” It showed that there were 8 days left until the door opened. She agreed that was so. He said, “I thought we had this many days left. I kept trying to come up with more things to do for you. But if that experiment tonight fails, there’s nothing more I can do for you.” And then in a softer voice, he said, “Even to make you smile.” The realization that she could die that very night was unbearable for him.

In response, she unwrapped her arm and showed him the wound. It had grown considerably and was red, swollen and puffy. She told him, “I can’t slow this down any further.”

The dilemma was so painful to him that he turned away, asking, “How can you put on such a calm face? How can you do that?!”

To Young this untested, possibly deadly cure was new information, a huge shock, especially combined with discovering her fever had started. But she had been thinking about it since they discovered Dr Jang’s journal. She was resigned to whatever was in store for her. She told him, “So, should I cry all day since this might be the end for me? That’s too upsetting. I have faith that things will go well. I will live. I’m going to live and stay with you.” She almost whispered, “So it’s all right.” Young turned and looked at her, working to contain his feelings while going over every feature of the face he treasured. She gazed back at him lovingly. Once again they faced a battle where one of them might not return.

At last Deo-ki brought a container to their room where Eun-soo, Lady Choi and Young waited. Eun-soo asked, “Is that the fever remedy?” Deo-ki nodded. Young was sitting bent over, resting his head on a fist, extremely worried but accepting of what she was doing. Eun-soo turned to Lady Choi to give her instructions on what to do. “If this works properly, I will start getting a high fever. I might even become unconscious. But just leave me alone, as it’s a sign that my body is fighting it. And if day breaks and my fever has not gone down, please use the fever remedy at that time, since a prolonged fever will not be good. Please also help me drink some water.”

Before Lady Choi could reply, Young sat up and said, “I will do this.” Lady Choi started to protest, but he insisted, “I will be here.”

Later that evening, Eun-soo sat on the bed and poured the greatly diluted poison into a bowl, preparing to drink it. Young sat across from her, and when she started to pick up the bowl to drink, he put one hand on her wrist. It wasn’t so much that he was objecting, it was only to give them another moment more before all other options ended. She put her hand on his, stroking it gently and then removed it. She picked up the bowl in both hands and slowly brought it to her lips and began to drink as Young looking at her intently. When she finished, he put his hand on her cheek, feeling her temperature for later comparison. They gazed at one another, each with their memories of how their relationship had grown into a such a fierce love over the past year.

As they waited for her battle to begin, they sat on the bed, Young sitting behind Eun-soo while combing her long hair. Her hair was one of his favorite features; he loved its unusual color, its abundance as well as its soft texture. At last Eun-soo began to feel the effects of the poison. She gasped and leaned back into his arms, feeling weak and dizzy. He held her close, desperately holding on to her as though he could protect her from the poison. Throughout the night Eun-soo grew worse, eventually losing consciousness, her fever soaring. Young stayed by her side, maintaining his vigil, constantly blotting her face and lips with a cloth dipped in cool water.

Early the next morning Lady Choi came to the barracks to check on Eun-soo. She found her in bed, unconscious and feverish, with Young still patting her face and lips with the the cool, wet cloth. He told her that he’d given her the fever remedy but her fever still hadn’t gone down. Lady Choi put her hand on Eun-soo’s forehead and remarked that she was boiling hot. She went to take the cooling cloth from Young, but he stopped her. She asked him, “Why don’t you take a break? I will step in.”

But he continued patting her face while replying, “This woman…she isn’t taking a break. She fought all night long, without giving up.”

Lady Choi nodded, “I know. She is the type.”

He paused for a moment and she gently took the cloth from his hand, telling him, “Why don’t you go and gather your strength since we don’t know how much longer we’ll have to fight this?”

He yielded to her and got to his feet to stretch, took a few steps, then stopped. He remembered the aspirin bottle and how Eun-soo had told him that it was good for reducing pain and fever. Taking the bottle out, he saw that there were still two pills left, which he shook out onto his hand. Eun-soo wouldn’t be able to take them as pills though, so he popped them into his mouth and chewed them up, mixing them with a little saliva. He went over to her and knelt down next to her, opening her lips a little. He placed his lips on hers and pushed the mixture into her mouth with his tongue, little by little. It was such an intimate thing to do that Lady Choi turned away to give her nephew privacy. After giving her the aspirin, Young gently wiped her mouth and watched her closely, gratified to see her take a small swallow. Then he sat back and took her hand in his to continue his vigil.

That same morning, guards came to take Ki Chul before the King for interrogation. They released him from the chains attached to the wall, but he still wore chains on his wrists. He smiled at the guards while they escorted him to meet the King. After Ki Chul had left the dungeon, Eum-ja knocked on the door to his and Hwa-su-in’s cell, signaling to three of the guards. Surprising their comrades, those bribed guards disabled the other guards and allowed Eum-ja and Hwa-su-in to walk free. The pledged siblings quickly made their way to the palace.

In the throne room, the King pronounced, “Prince of the Court, Ki Chul, you have committed high treason and sinned against the heavens.”

Ki Chul replied, “Your Majesty, there is one thing I need to ask of you.” He reached into a sleeve where he had concealed one of the two energy booster pills, and before anyone could stop him, popped it into his mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing it. The others weren’t sure what he was doing, but it didn’t bode well. Woodalchi guards rushed protect the King, but the pill’s effect was almost immediate. As Choon-sik approached Ki Chul, he slammed the Woodalchi backward, out of his way. Then he generated his inner power and easily broke the chain apart that had been holding his hands. And while additional Woodalchi ran to the throne room to bolster their forces against him, his pledged siblings went to the King’s quarters where Prince Hyung had hidden the relics from heaven.

Young heard the alarm whistle of a Woodalchi, and Dae-man shortly ran into the Young’s room, telling him that Ki Chul was threatening the King. Young stood up, his eyes wide with alarm, as Lady Choi told him, “Go. I will look after the High Doctor.” Even with the threat so severe, Young didn’t immediately leave. He bent down to feel Eun-soo’s forehead. After a moment, Lady Choi scolded him, “Young!” Finally heeding the call, he left for the palace, leaving his sword behind.

There was mayhem in the palace. The pledged siblings easily overcame the few guards they encountered and found the box where Prince Hyung had hidden it, removing the contents. In the throne room, Ki Chul fought off the Woodalchi who attacked him, whether singly or in groups, disabling some and killing others with ease. Do-chi urged the King to leave, but Ki Chul turned and told the King to stay right where he was.

The angry King cried out, “Prince of the Court, have you lost your mind? What do you think you’re doing?!”

Ki Chul replied, “It’s nothing much. I have just come to claim what is mine. So why don’t you stay here and tell these other men to all leave?” Then he shouted, “They are so annoying!” Just then Deok-man attacked him. Using his enhanced power, Ki Chul twisted his arm and then threw him into a corner, where he stayed, nursing an injured shoulder. Dol-bae began to plan his own attack on Ki Chul.

Young came into the back of the throne room and saw all the bodies on the floor behind Ki Chul. Everyone looked up when he entered, and Ki Chul also turned to see who had come in. Spying Young, he said, “Woodalchi Choi Young…”

The King interrupting, saying, “The Prince of the Court has gone so crazy that no one can stop him.”

Staring grimly at Ki Chul, Young asked him in a quiet voice, “Prince of the Court, what is it you want?”

He answered, “Where is the High Doctor? I need to take her with me.”

Young looked down at his right hand, which still twitched slightly. Dol-bae, seeing the same thing, raised his ji and prepared to distract Ki Chul from his General. Young told him, “Don’t!” but Dol-bae was already getting Ki Chul’s attention by shouting, “Over here!”

As Dol-bae ran toward Ki Chul, a horrified Young again shouted, this time as loud as he could, “Don’t!!” But it was too late. Ki Chul avoided Dol-bae’s ji and grabbed him by the throat, freezing it within moments. Dol-bae tried to breathe or escape, but everyone could literally hear his throat tissues crackling from the cold. Ki Chul threw him to the ground and and he lay there, motionless. Using the toe of his boot, Young flipped a sword that had been on the floor up and into his hand and attacked Ki Chul. With his vastly enhanced speed and power, however, Ki-chul merely swatted the sword out of Young’s hand.

Virtually ignoring Ki Chul, Young strode over to where Dol-bae lay. He knelt down and lifted Dol-bae’s head up. Dol-bae was still barely alive, his mouth filling with blood, gasping his last. But he still managed to smile at the sight of his Daejang, telling him with that smile not to worry. Then his smile faded, his eyes took on a faraway look and he breathed his last. Young continued to look at his dear comrade for a moment, his gaze softening, then carefully let his head down to the floor. He gently closed Dol-bae’s eyelids as his own eyes began to redden. He picked up Dol-bae’s hand and laid it on his chest with great care, briefly resting his own hands over it. But it was neither the time nor place to grieve yet; Young’s face quickly resumed its grim expression and he stood up again, saying, “Somebody give me your sword.” By then Doek-man had managed to stand himself up again, and as the Woodalchi nearest the General, he handed Young his sword, hilt first.


	47. Episode 24, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young fights Ki Chul in the throne room. The Doctor is taken by Ki Chul’s minions and Choi Young pursues her kidnappers.

**Gae Kyeong & the Road to Heaven's Portal**

Young had been coming to a decision. It would pain him to kill someone; he could no longer numbly wield a sword as he had done for the past seven years. Every death would hurt and he'd feel not only regret but often guilt, just as he had been recently experiencing. But some things were worth accepting that burden. Determined to protect the King and holding the sword as firmly as he could in his troubled right hand, Young told everyone to stand back. When they didn’t move, he repeated, shouting this time, “Get back!!” 

Nearly everyone took a step back, but Ki Chul only growled, staring at Young’s right hand, “It’s no use.”

Young took a step toward Ki Chul but addressed Choon-sik, “Vice-General, escort His Majesty out of here.”

Everyone was looking at the sword Young held in his right hand; its point was dragging along the floor. His right hand hadn't yet caught up to what he'd accepted emotionally. The King anxiously looked to the other Woodalchi and told them, “Somebody help him. Don’t let him fight alone.”

Still not taking his eyes off Ki Chul, Young warned, “Nobody come near me. I’ll cut you if you do.” He knew they’d be no match for Ki Chul.

Ki Chul began, “Your Majesty…” but stopped when Young, placing both hands on his sword and with great effort, took a swing at him. But Ki Chul easily backed away from the awkward swing. Young took another swing which the other man also avoided, twirling and picking up a sword from the floor to face Young again. On Young’s third swing, Ki Chul met the General’s sword with his own and knocked it completely away, out of Young’s grasp. Still grimly determined, Young backed up a few steps and picked up another Woodalchi sword that was laying on the floor. Without taking his eyes from Ki Chul, Young again spoke to Choon-sik, “Vice-General, what are you doing?”

The King himself responded, “I will stay here. I will stand behind the General.”

Young exhaled and closed his eyes momentarily in frustration, as he was trying to buy the King’s life by at least delaying Ki Chul.

Ki Chul hadn’t followed up with a killing blow because he still needed Young to do something. He told Young, “Bring the High Doctor.” Young told him he couldn’t do that. Ki Chul declared, “I will kill every living thing here one by one until she comes. That is my plan.”

Grimly determined, Young replied, “I can’t let you do that,” and he again gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands.

Ki Chul challenged, “What can you do with that pathetic hand?”

The King even pleaded with Young, “General, it’s okay to retreat once.”

But Young only replied, “I’m fine, Your Majesty.”

“I know your hand is not fine.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my hand. It’s just that the sword is heavy.”

At that Ki Chul laughed, calling it nonsense. Then he attacked Young with his sword. He drove Young back with a powerful blow and then repeated a second time. On his third blow, however, Young met Ki Chul’s sword in midair with his own…and held. Young gritted his teeth with the effort and then managed to thrust his sword outward, driving Ki Chul back a few steps. Ki Chul was genuinely shocked, looking at his own sword in disbelief; how had Young done that, given his own greatly increased power from Yang-sa’s medicine? Young followed up with another powerful blow and then another, each one slow and deliberate but more powerful than the last one. Finally Young swung again and Ki Chul’s sword blade broke in half from the blow. He stared at Young in surprise and asked, “What… sword is that?!”

Young tersely replied, “Like I said. A heavy sword." His soul and his body were finally coming together in purpose.

While Young was at the palace, Lady Choi looked after Eun-soo. She was bringing a tray to the bed when she saw her patient move. Eun-soo had finally awoken and began struggling to sit up. Lady Choi rushed to her and asked, “Are you all right?”

Very pale and weak, Eun-soo didn’t answer right away. Instead she looked around the room, searching for Young. “Where is he… ?”

“Something came up at the palace, so he went there.” Eun-soo began to fall back onto the bed but Lady Choi reached out and supported her, asking, “He said you had a boiling fever all night. Are you okay?”

Eun-soo spoke slowly and almost whispered, “A little dizzy, and…every cell in my body hurts.” She looked around the room again, nodding to herself as if to assure herself that she was really there, and weakly cried, “What a relief!"

Lady Choi responded, “What a relief indeed! You were so reckless!”

She told Lady Choi, “I was afraid it was all a dream, that everything might have been a dream. You have no idea how scared I was.”

Lady Choi realized that part of Eun-soo’s fear had been about Young, wondering if he had only existed in her dream. She reassured her, “He was with you all night.”

Eun-soo muttered to herself, “He must have been afraid, too.”

Lady Choi asked her, “So now the poison is gone? Are you well now?”

“Maybe.” She lifted Lady Choi’s hand to her forehead, and after a moment Lady Choi’s eyes widened as she realized Eun-soo no longer had a fever. Then Eun-soo took her own pulse, and told the other woman, “My pulse was fast and weak before, but now…Lady Choi…I think…I’m cured now. Eun-soo’s face began to crumple into tears as more relief flooded through her. Lady Choi hugged her close and patted her on the back, almost ready to cry herself.

But their time to celebrate didn’t last long. Dae-man spotted Ki Chul’s pledged siblings making their way toward the Woodalchi barracks, mowing their way through royal guards who tried to stop them with their swords and inner energies. Dae-man ran as fast as he could toward the barracks, blowing his alarm whistle to summon the Woodalchi nearby. Then he made for the General’s room.

Even though Young had stopped Ki Chul’s attack in the throne room, their confrontation continued. Still facing his enemy, Young asked the King, “Your Majesty, is there any particular reason you brought him here? If not, may I kill him now?”

The King took a step down from the dais to speak to Ki Chul, still very aware that he was the brother of the Yuan empress. He told him that, even though the other man had tried to kill him, he would like to spare his life. The King went on, “You are one of the people of Goryeo, and your sister also thinks fondly of Goryeo. Why don’t we look for a way …”

But Ki Chul was a master at knowing people’s vulnerable points. He interrupted the King with, “At first…I thought you were a weakling with too much pride. However, you are actually quite the politician.” Then he turned to the General and addressed him, “Choi Young, a man like you cannot live under a king like that.” Young told him to watch his mouth, but he continued, “A king like that only uses you like a hunting dog. He can throw you into a burning hell at any moment if he has to. And you would walk into it on your own. You’re that kind of man.” As he spoke, the King was unpleasantly reminded of what Choi Young had had to do at Jungdong; he knew that slaughter had been hell for his General.

Young tapped his sword point loudly onto the floor for emphasis and warned Ki Chul again about his disrespectful mouth. But the man continued, “The common people do not even know the King’s name. However, there are very few that don’t know your name, Choi Young.” Ki Chul had struck at Young’s vulnerability. He was suddenly thrown back in the memory of the nightmarish scene of his Red Moon Army master being killed for having become too famous, overshadowing the king.

The King tried to interrupt, calling what Ki Chul was saying, “Nonsense,” but at the moment Young had become lost in that traumatic memory.

Ki Chul spoke to the King loudly, for all to hear, “Honestly, is there anything that you have accomplished on your own for you to sit on that throne? Have you ever shed one drop of blood? All those statesmen outside, _he_ brought them to you. The Royal Army of the capital and the Defense Army on the borders…they all follow _him_. What Your Majesty has is only the title of monarch.”

Then he addressed Young again in a cajoling, almost tender voice, “Which is why I’m saying, Choi Young, become the King.” Everyone was shocked. What Ki Chul had said was largely true. Choi Young was famous and widely admired. And with his handsome face and tall bearing, he would even look more regal than King Gongmin. Was it possible that the General would turn on the King? Ki Chul continued to drive his point home, “I can get an Imperial Decree from the Emperor of Yuan right away.”

Trusting his friend but still a little nervous, the King said, “General.”

Young replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“He’s waiting for your answer.”

Having finally returned to himself, Young replied, his eyes full of emotion, “I will give my answer to you, Your Majesty. Seven years ago, someone I knew had the same question. The question was so heavy that he answered it with his life. I now know he was wrong…He was wrong because he ran away from it.” Young had faced his growing reluctance to wield a sword and decided with renewed determination to protect those he cared about. He would never again be able to kill numbly, as he had for so many years. He’d feel the pain of taking a life, but he was willing to bear that burden.

Ki Chul made one more try. “Choi Young, don’t you want to be king? Why don’t you have some ambition?”

With an angry and determined look on his face, Young answered, “I already have the King. What more would I want?” He gripped his sword more firmly and asked, “Your Majesty, do you want to keep him alive?”

Before the King could reply, Ki Chul’s lips curled into a sneer as he said, “I think I bought enough time.” He had known Young wouldn’t be swayed; he had only sought to buy time for his minions to recover the relics and kidnap Eun-soo. He turned and walked to the back of the throne room, throwing open the doors where several Woodalchi waited on the other side. Young shouted at them to let him go, knowing they would not be able to stop him. Then he strode out of the room to follow Ki Chul, sword in hand.

After they had left, Deok-man went to Dol-bae’s body and knelt there, placing his ji alongside him and gently wrapping Dol-bae’s arm around it.

Meanwhile, the pledged siblings approached the Woodalchi barracks. Eum-ja stayed to keep the soldiers away while Hwa Su-in went in. Dae-man was barely ahead of her, running into the General’s room shouting, “They’re coming! The flute guy and the fire woman…!” Lady Choi grabbed a cloak and helped Eun-soo into it, saying they’d go to the palace. Eun-soo could barely stand, but still asked Dae-man about the General. He told her that he was protecting the King, and that the weird high and mighty guy was raising a ruckus. Just then Eun-soo spied Hwa Su-in coming into the room and cried out. Lady Choi placed herself protectively in front of the Doctor from Heaven.

With her usual malevolent bonhomie, Hwa Su-in grinned and said, “What is this? _This_ was your hiding place?” Dae-man threw a pottery jar at her but she avoided it and it crashed into the wall, smashing to pieces. Lady Choi led Eun-soo toward the door as Dae-man tried to distract Hwa Su-in, jumping up and grabbing an overhead rafter to kick out at her, somersaulting back to avoid her grasp and then using his fists. The two women had made it outside the door when Lady Choi looked back at the fight between Dae-man and Hwa Su-in. By that time, Hwa Su-in had removed her glove and managed to get her fiery hand on Dae-man’s neck, burning it, then threw him on the ground, intending to follow the two women. Lady Choi ran back and attacked Hwa Su-in but was thrown against a wall. Hwa Su-in turned to go after Eun-soo, but then Dae-man had an idea. He rushed toward his foe again, but on his way he picked up a cloth and dipped it in the bowl of water Young had earlier used to cool Eun-soo’s face. He grabbed Hwa Su-in’s shoulder, and when she turned to reach for him with her fiery hand, he slammed the wet cloth against her palm and held it there, blocking her fire power from reaching him. Steam rose from between their hands, but Dae-man held on. Lady Choi saw her chance. Raising herself up by bracing herself against the wall, she drew a long knife from within her skirts and buried the blade in the other woman‘s back. In spite of all her fiery strength, Hwa Su-in collapsed and died right there.

During the fight with Hwa Su-in, one of the new Woodalchi recruits found Eun-soo in the hallway. He told her he’d take her to the Queen’s part of the palace where they could protect her, and that he had a carriage ready to take her that short distance. But she entered the curtained carriage only to find Yang-sa reaching for her. She was still very weak from her ordeal, and he easily grabbed her neck and pressed the carotid artery there, blocking it. After a moment she collapsed, unconscious, onto the seat of the carriage. The Woodalchi recruit, one of Ki Chul’s spies, climbed onto the driver’s seat and drove the carriage out of the palace compound.

Both Dae-man and Lady Choi left the barracks to search for Eun-soo, so when Eum-ja arrived in the General’s room, only his pledged sister's corpse was there as a grisly greeting. He knelt by her, overcome by grief so great that he could hardly remain upright. Then his inner energy began to generate a wind that swirled around him, and his grief began turning into a maelstrom of rage at the loss of the only woman he’d ever loved.

A little while later, Dae-man found Young, who was on his way back to the barracks to check on Eun-soo. Holding his burned throat and obviously in pain, Dae-man told him of the fight in his room and that Eun-soo was not at the Queen’s palace where they thought she’d be. She was missing. Stricken, Young began to go look for her, but then looked back at Dae-man. He pulled Dae-man’s hand away from his throat, exposing the burned and blistering flesh. Young’s face softened and he grabbed a fistful of Dae-man’s wild hair and held it for a moment, a silent gesture of fondness and gratitude for the young Woodalchi. Then Young went to the barracks.

Word rapidly spread through the palace about that morning’s confrontation in the throne room as well as the High Doctor’s kidnapping. So after the royal guards secured the palace, the Queen hurried to King’s quarters to see him. She found him in his office with aides who were searching the room. Ki Chul’s pledged siblings had left behind a few of the Hwata relics. Do-chi had just found the small box with the rusted tools inside, and another aide found the box that had held the notebook. But all that was left in that box was the back page of Eun-soo’s notebook, with her name written in Hangul. Picking up the page, the King said, “I think only the High Doctor would know what this is.” The Queen, though, was at that moment more concerned about the General, and she asked about him. He told her, “The entire capital is being ransacked for her, so I told him to stand by and wait. Because otherwise, he might go crazy.” The Queen commented that the High Doctor couldn’t be in good condition, either. Feeling guilty, the King responded, “I know. The General left her behind in order to protect me.”

The Queen wondered aloud if the other couple were being punished for bringing the High Doctor there. Maybe she wasn’t meant to be in their world. The King thought that was possible, but then it seemed he should be the one being punished rather than the High Doctor, since she’d been brought and kept there by his order. His wife told him she’d share in whatever punishment he might be given. She agreed that for now they needed to focus on finding the Doctor, but once they had done that, she had something to tell the King. He asked what that was, but she would only tell him it was a word from Heaven that the High Doctor had taught her. She’d tell him when he had something to celebrate. He smiled at her while she put her hand on his and gently said, “Think of the General and the High Doctor.” They gazed at each other with love, understanding how difficult it must be for the other couple, who cared for each other as much as they did.

Lady Choi had returned to the barracks to wait for Young. He came in and looked over at the bed, knowing that Eun-soo wasn’t there, but he couldn’t help himself. As he stood there, he felt the pain of her kidnapping almost as a physical blow. Lady Choi told him, “Seeing that the corpse of that fire woman is gone, Chun Eum-ja must have taken it. They wouldn’t have been able to take the corpse and the High Doctor at the same time. It must mean there was an accomplice.”

Young asked in a grief-stricken voice, “How was she?”

“You said she had a fever all night, so she was very weak.”

“What about the poison?”

“She thinks she’s overcome it.”

With red-rimmed eyes, Young told her, “I need to go,” and began to leave.

She stood and called to him, “Where to? His Majesty has told you to wait…”

He stopped and shouted back at her, “I’m waiting! I’m waiting, but…”

“Just stay here so that you won’t miss any updates.”

He turned to look at her, his face showing his agony. He whispered, “I feel like I’m going to die... right now…if I don’t go.” Lady Choi finally understood the utter depth of his love and need for Eun-soo. She didn’t try to stop him as he picked up his sword from its cradle and strode out the door.

Young went to the King, bowing before him. The King told him, “I ordered emergency inspections up to the towns near the northern border. And…”

Young completed his thought, “If they have left, they’re going to the Heaven’s Door. I know how to get there.”

The King asked, “If once you see the High Doctor again, and get her back, will you follow her to her world?”

“Did you keep me here just to answer that question?”

The King shook his head, “No, I just wanted you to take action after hearing something about her.” But then he admitted, “And ‘yes,’ I did keep you here to hear you say this. I know how exhausted you are, General, on this land. So, are you going to follow her?”

Pulling himself out of his swirling emotions, Young raised his head and answered, “I already gave you my answer this morning. I will not follow the path my master took. So I have already returned to you, My King. Please help me take my woman back as well.” Already knowing he had the King’s support, he didn’t wait for a response. He bowed and strode out of the throne room, sword firmly in hand.

As Young left the palace, both Ji Hul of the Suribangs and the Woodalchi Deok-man reported to him. Between the two groups they had managed to locate Ki Chul’s hideout in the capital city and found out there was a spy among the new Woodalchi recruits who had been helping them. They also told him that the Royal Army would be attacking their hideout at any moment. What they didn’t know was that Ki Chul had already moved his group to another house. When the army arrived, they found only an empty place.

Eun-soo awoke at the new hideout with a sword at her throat. Shaking with emotion, Eum-ja demanded to know who had killed his pledged sister. Frightened, she shook her head slowly. She didn’t know, but even if she had, she wouldn’t have told him. Just then Ki Chul came into the room and told Eum-ja to take the sword away from her throat. She saw the intense grief on his face as he reluctantly withdrew his sword and then left the room, unable to bear looking at the woman who lived while Hwa Su-in died.

She breathed a sigh of relief and sat up as Ki Chul pulled a chair over and sat down across from her. He told her, “I had to risk myself just to bring you here.” Noticing her pallor, he asked, “Are you ill? Is there still poison in your body?” She didn’t answer; instead she asked if she’d been kidnapped. He assured her she had not; she had simply been brought there. But when she asked if she could leave, he told her, "no." She asked why he had done this. He replied, “We will be going to heaven’s gate together. And then to heaven. You said last time that the third item will tell you how to get to heaven. I’ve had it brought here.” He had Yang-sa bring the small chest the pledged siblings had recovered. She opened it and found a small rectangular box-like object with a leather cover, cracked and yellowed by age. Tears filled her eyes as she recognized it.

Continuing the search for Eun-soo, Ji Hul reported to the Manbo sister that they were in close pursuit and had put the word out all over the city about Ki Chul and his minions. They should be relatively easy to find, given Eum-ja’s height and striking white hair. She told him that they had to find them. If they didn’t, Young would live like a ghost again, and it would break her heart to see her pledged nephew like that. Then she remembered that some of their vendors had sold large quantities of a particular medicine to Yang-sa. She sent Ji Hul to check on what medicine that was and to start monitoring for a large purchase of it from any of their vendors. As he left she called to him to be careful.

Soon the Suribang network showed results. Ki Chul’s Woodalchi spy had been sent by Yang-sa to pick up a medicine order. As he returned to their hideout, he was followed by a succession of Suribang informants, including the tall Suribang swordsman. The spy caught on that he was being followed, and he and the swordsman briefly exchanged blows. The swordsman didn’t want to stop the spy, so he let him escape, but not without being followed by yet another Suribang informant. Deciding that his spy had probably been followed, Ki Chul ordered that they quickly pack up and leave. He rode in the carriage with Eun-soo. By the time the soldiers invaded the second hideout, the fugitives and their captive were already on their way out of the capital. However, Suribang informants continued to keep an eye on the roads and reported that people who looked like them had passed another town in a carriage. Choon-sik relayed the message to Young, who quickly mounted a horse to pursue them. His Vice-General told him that he would follow with some men, but Young told him to wait until he sent for them. He was grimly determined to deliver retribution himself. Nevertheless, Choon-sik sent some men to follow Young, but they were told not to interfere but only to be available if he needed them or to report back.

As Ki Chul and his group traveled into the night, Eun-soo told him that she wasn’t sure how the gate was connected to particular times and places, but since the General was able to go and then return to the same place, she thought it was possible to go and then return if done relatively quickly. She didn’t know what would happen over a longer period of time, though, in terms of returning. She also didn’t know if the gate would go to the same place every time.

He only responded, “I don’t care.” He added that he would go wherever the gate led and keep gathering, over and over until his hunger was satisfied. Eun-soo asked him to let her go if she led him to the gate, but he told her firmly that she would be going with him. And that was that. Eun-soo had played her last card; it seemed she’d have no choice but to go through the portal with Ki Chul. And who knew what would happen then?

That night the fleeing party came to an inn where they stopped to eat, dressed in cloaks with hoods to hide their identities. As the others made arrangements for the meal, Eun-soo surreptitiously took a small charcoal stick out of a cold brazier and had a brief moment to jot something on the wall. Sometime after they left, Young came into the same inn, looked around, and began to leave before his mind’s eye reminded him that he had seen something. Turning back, he spied the writing on the wall. It was in Hangul and was the same message she’d showed to him after the loss of so many of his men in the rebellion. The message told him that she was alright. He was so moved and relieved by seeing her message that had to close his eyes and take a breath before going on. He was getting close.

Ki Chul’s group traveled all night, and the next day found them still on the road, Yang-sa driving the wagon with a servant trotting at the pony’s head. Eum-ja rode a horse, hiding most of his white hair under a bamboo hat. They came to a roadblock manned by three soldiers, who were checking everyone before letting them pass. Eum-ja attacked them, swinging his sword from horseback, running them down and and killing them with relative ease.

They finally stopped early in the evening as everyone, especially the horses, could go no further. In a small village they found an inn and rented the entire building, telling the owner that their lady was unwell and needed absolute rest. Eum-ja and Yang-sa stayed in the common room while Ki Chul and Eun-soo went into a bed chamber. He gave the bed to Eun-soo and sat across the room from her. He hung his head in pain and exhaustion, still suffering the aftereffect of the energy-enhancing pill he’d taken at the palace. Eun-soo asked if she could check his pulse. But he didn’t trust her and scorned her offer. Frustrated, she lay back down to rest.

Young came a little later to the village where the fleeing party had stopped. He’d checked all along the way from where they had eaten the night before. He knew they had to stop soon. Seeing the inn, he checked the small stable there and spied the carriage described by the Suribang informants. He’d found her at last.

Ki Chul’s group were just settling in when they heard a loud pounding on the door. It roused Eun-soo, and Ki Chul quickly got up to see what was happening as the pounding continued. Young suddenly burst in, having kicked the doors open. He had murder in his eyes; there would be no mercy for Eun-soo’s kidnappers. Spotting Eum-ja and Yang-sa, he instantly attacked them, sending Eum-ja in a backward somersault over a table while Yang-sa scrambled away. Young continued toward Eum-ja, overturning the table toward him to keep him off balance and began slashing at him with quick, powerful blows, his energy fueled by fierce determination and rage. But Eum-ja defended himself and even went on the offensive once, leaping up against the wall for leverage and coming down onto Young with a powerful sword slash. Young was driven back momentarily but quickly regained the offense. The battle was not a conventional sword fight. Both of them augmented their swords with whatever came to hand, throwing furniture at each other and Young even overturning a bookcase while pursuing the other man.

While Young and Eum-ja fought, Ki Chul saw what was happening and ran back into the bed chamber. Keeping his eyes on the entrance to the room, he reached back for Eun-soo, telling her, “Let’s go!” But Eun-soo saw her chance. She drew her knife and slashed the back of his hand, then ran into another room. He cried out in pain, grasping his bleeding hand. Still weak, he was in no condition to fight Young or pursue Eun-soo through the inn. He made his own escape, leaving his minions to face Young’s wrath.

Young and Eum-ja continued their battle, and Young finally backed him up against a table. By this time Eum-ja was just trying to stay alive. He managed to block a heavy blow by Young, locking swords crosswise with him in front of their faces. As they held each other motionless, Young fiercely intent and Eum-ja with fear in his eyes, Yang-sa came up behind Young, poised to stab him with his poison ring. But Young caught Eum-ja’s quick glance at Yang-sa and turned aside while using his own sword to twist Eum-ja’s into a forward thrust. Eum-ja had been pushing with all his strength on his sword to hold Young off, and when Young suddenly moved and twisted their swords, the kinetic energy of Eumja’s sword drove the blade right into Yang-sa’s chest. Yang-sa gasped in agony as he took a few steps back, staring unbelievingly at the comrade who had just killed him. Then he fell to the ground as a shocked Eum-ja stood there. But Young was already in motion again, knocking Eum-ja’s sword out of his hand. In desperation Eum-ja twirled to avoid another blow and picked up the table, holding its top in front of him as a shield and running toward Young. But Young drove him back and up against a wall. With incredible force Young shoved his sword between two of the boards making up the tabletop. Eum-ja looked on in shock as Young’s sword came right through the wood and pierced deeply into his own chest. Young pulled his sword back out, panting heavily while looking at Eum-ja with grim satisfaction as the table fell down and away from him. Eum-ja slowly slid down the wall and blood began to fill his mouth and dribble down his chin. Young didn’t linger; he abruptly turned away and left the other man coughing up blood as he died.

Young began looking for Ki Chul and Eun-soo. She came out of a side door as he passed. Surprised, he turned to her, and the raging warrior was instantly gone. Looking into the empty room behind her, he knew Ki Chul had left. After a second’s pause to take in the sight of his beloved, he asked gently, “Are you all right?” Her eyes shining with tears of joy to see him, she nodded. “Are you in pain?” She shook her head. “Are you well now?”

She answered with a smile, “Yes.”

His eyes also began to fill with tears as he softly asked her, “Then now, will you stay with me?”

She nodded, filled with love for him, and said, “Yes.” He reached out and quickly pulled her to him in a tight embrace. They held each other for some time, hardly able to believe they were with the other one at last.

Young paid a servant to go back to the first inn and wait for the Woodalchi, who he knew Choon-sik had sent after him. He was to tell them where Young was and that they should wait for the landlord at the first inn, telling him that the King would reimburse him for the damage to his inn. The bodies could be disposed of in whatever way was easiest. He also told them to have someone bring a change of clothes and money for both of them the next day, and that he wasn’t sure when they would return to Gae Kyeong. They would wait where they were for the door to heaven to open a few days later. As they finally went to their room, the adrenaline of their two-day ordeal drained away, and they were both so exhausted they could hardly stay on their feet. The innkeeper kindly heated water so they could wash themselves, and that revived them a little. But through it all they were joyful with the knowledge of being together, stealing looks at the other one and smiling tenderly when their eyes met. Having stripped down to their underclothes to wash, they fell into bed, holding one another, and slept like the dead through the night.


	48. Episode 24, Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choi Young and EunSoo are reunited after her kidnapping. Eun-soo goes to the portal to say goodbye to her parents and return, but encounters Ki Chul.
> 
> NOTE: In the series, after Young rescues Eun-soo, there were still a few days left before the portal opens, but we don't see anything that happened during that time. So I've added my own interpretation.
> 
> ALERT: There are some erotic passages in this chapter.

**The Portal to Heaven, Nearby Villages, and Modern Seoul**

Early the next morning, Eun-soo’s eyes fluttered open and it took a moment for her to remember where she was. And who she was with. She heard breathing and turned her head to see Young sleeping next to her. She gazed lovingly at his handsome face, treasuring every detail: his expressive eyes, now closed with eyelashes just brushing his cheeks, high cheekbones with the small slash mark just under one of them, loose strands of hair falling over his face from sleeping, and those lips that had so thrilled her with their kiss. There was a slight stubble of beard on his cheeks, giving him a rakish look. It suddenly struck her that now she would be able to see his face for the rest of her life. She practically giggled with delight as she stretched. Her motion roused him, and she looked over and saw him facing her with his eyelids half open. His eyes quickly focused on her, and his lips curved into a sweet smile.

He reached over to gently brush a lock of hair away from her face and asked her in a soft voice, “Did you sleep well? Are you all right?” She told him she felt fine though still a bit tired. She asked him how he was. Rotating one arm, he told her he was fine but his shoulders were a little stiff. It was the first time she had heard Young volunteer anything about how his body felt; he was continuing to open himself to her. She told him to remove his undershirt and roll over so she could massage his shoulders, saying it was his doctor’s orders. Muttering that she would always be an impertinent recruit while a slight smile began to play on his lips, he sat up to untie his top and then slid it off his shoulders and arms onto the bed. As he did so, she was treated to her first look at his entire upper body. Lean but so well-muscled that she saw them ripple under his skin when he moved, her eyes were pulled to several scars on his chest and back. It sobered her to think of the violence and pain those represented. He saw her serious look and asked, “What?” She brushed the thought away, quickly smiled at him and told him to turn over onto his stomach so she could start. She sat next to him and began. Under her strong fingers, he groaned as the knots in his shoulders loosened. She hadn’t seen him fight Ki Chul’s minions, but she had heard the crashes, shouts and gasps of agony as they died. She was relieved that he only had a few aches from that final confrontation.

When she was finished, she leaned down said, “All done. How do your shoulders feel?” He didn’t immediately reply but turned over, reached up and tugged on her arm to lie back down on the bed with him. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at her for a moment with that direct stare that had captured her heart. He finally answered her question in a husky voice, “Much better,” and slowly bent his head to kiss her briefly. He paused, and then kissed her again. This time it was a long kiss, and it fit perfectly with the man she knew as Choi Young, strong and masculine but with a tenderness underneath. She inhaled his scent, musky with a bit of sweat. When their kiss ended, she gazed at him and said, “ _Saranghe_ , Daejang.”

Puzzled by the word, Young asked, “What?”

“It’s a heaven word that means that you are in my heart and will be there, always. It means I yearn for you even when we’re together. I will always yearn for you, Daejang.” And she repeated, with love in her eyes, “Saranghe.”

Even though he had not liked to say heaven words, this was different. He softly replied, “Then, saranghe, Imja.”

They made love, then. He took time to nuzzle and kiss the skin along her neck and shoulder, feeling the downy hairs and oh-so-soft skin there. Soon he undid the tie holding the front of her top together and helped her slide it off over her shoulder, slowly moving down to caress her newly revealed breasts. His weapons-callused hands were rough on her bare skin. But that only added to her pleasure in being touched by him, giving her little chills as those hands that had protected her so fiercely caressed her body. She ran her fingers over his chest, which was firm and warm, and a soft gasp escaped his lips. It had been a long time since he had sought a woman’s touch.

They gradually removed the rest of their clothes and then took their time moving down each other’s body to eventually touch and stroke their most intimate parts. Now and then there were gasps and moans of pleasure as they gave themselves to each other, body and soul. And when they joined together, Eun-soo glanced up to see a slight aura around them that seemed to crackle with energy here and there, and she felt a slight tingling sensation. The feeling wasn’t unpleasant; in fact, as they continued, it heightened her pleasure. When he reached his peak, groaning in ecstasy, she felt an intense throb of her own, giving her wave after wave of almost unbearable pleasure as she cried out. As their passion slowly faded, the aura also faded. Young later told her it seemed to be a natural manifestation of his inner power, and she chuckled to herself, thinking of the fortune teller’s prediction that heaven would send a man specifically for her. If that was true, heaven had gone far beyond her hopes. She told herself with a wild joy in her heart that now they could be together, forever.

As they lay together in the afterglow of lovemaking, she started a more leisurely exploration of his body, moving her hands over his torso, shoulders and down his thighs, caressing the body that had just given her such intense pleasure. He lay there watching her from half-lidded eyes, a little self-conscious but enjoying her touch. As she looked with a lover’s eye, she again was struck by the scars where he had taken slashes, stabbings, and apparently even a few arrows, not to mention her own sword thrust. She had already touched some of them or felt them against her skin while they were making love. She thought it was a miracle, even with his special powers, to have survived so many injuries. She brushed her hand across them tenderly.

Young, on the other hand, could hardly believe how deliciously silky her skin was. She was a few years older than he was, but her body was taut and her breasts delightful to caress. He loved her fresh, natural scent with a hint of flowers, enhanced by the herbal mixtures she worked with. He stroked and ran his hands through her hair, luxuriating in it. When she put her head on his chest, her long hair spread out over him, and he experienced it as another embrace. He briefly thought of Mae Hee, his first love and dear companion in arms. Their lovemaking had been wonderful and full of youthful discovery. But loving Eun-soo was on another level entirely. He told himself that now she would be his, forever.

They eventually got up and dressed and went to the common room to eat. Then they went to the market. It was not a big village but nevertheless there were goods from the capital as well as from local artisans. They both selected some new under and outer clothes, since theirs were sweaty, stained and, in Young’s case, torn with a few blood stains. The clothiers promised to make the necessary alterations to the items they had selected and would deliver their goods that night. She also visited an herbal merchant to buy medicines to help re-energize herself and continue healing, as well as some oils and soaps that appealed to her. Then they went to look at jewelry. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, and Young smiled with genuine pleasure as she eagerly looked over necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets, asking questions about their origin and quality, and eventually buying three pieces. But he always kept one eye out for Ki Chul, knowing that man would never give up.

Eun-soo was still recovering and didn’t have a great deal of energy, so they went back to the inn early in the afternoon for a meal and a nap. They slept for an hour or two and awoke again to the delight of being close to the other one. They talked for a bit about what their experience had been during the previous few days, and they comforted each other with soft words and caresses. They even managed to laugh now and again about their ordeal.

After a while they began to touch each other more passionately and made love a second time. Young’s aura again surrounded them as they joined. She looked at Young as they made love, his skin covered in a light sheen of sweat, his hair falling around his neck and face and his eyes almost glazed with passion. Nevertheless whenever their eyes met she felt the heat of his love for her, and her heart felt just as penetrated as the rest of her.

In that way they spent the next few days enjoying each other’s company, resting, making love, shopping, and walking together in the surrounding hills. Eun-soo even began to plan their wedding. She had attended a few weddings during her time in Goryeo and had some ideas about what she wanted for her own ceremony. When she mentioned it to Young, he told her he didn’t care about the ceremony as long as they’d be married by the end of it; she could do whatever she wanted. But she insisted on talking about it and getting his opinion on various details. He tolerated it, although his comments were usually limited to, “Yes”, “No”, and most frequently, “It doesn’t matter to me.”

A few days later they found themselves settling in for the night with great anticipation. If Eun-soo’s calculations were correct, the portal would open on the following day. They had decided that she should go through the portal to say a brief goodbye to her parents and then quickly return. After that, they would stay a few more days in the village for her to finish recovering her energy. And, truth be said, he would enjoy more time with her alone. As they lay together, Young rested his head on an elbow to gaze at her. He said with a sweet smile, “Tomorrow is it. The day that the Heaven’s gate opens.”

She knew there was some risk about going to the portal and re-entering the door, so she only answered quietly, “That’s right.”

“Will you be alright, saying goodbye to people on the other side?” Based on how he had gone and returned through the gate with ease, and knowing how important her parents were to her and how much she wanted to talk with them, he smiled reassuringly and said, “I will escort you there.”

“I know.” She was worried about Ki Chul, and asked him, “If you fight him, will you be able to defeat him?”

He smiled again, telling her, “I will probably win.” He continued to gaze at her in silence with a soft expression on his face, and when she asked him why he was doing that, he told her, “I’m trying to remember this moment, now that I don’t have to try to forget you.” She reached up and caressed his face tenderly, first one cheek, then down his nose and then lingered on the lips that she thought were perfect. He finally took her hand and kissed it, telling her to get some sleep. They had quite a day ahead of them. She closed her eyes as he stroked her hair, and then went to sleep himself.

The next morning found Ki Chul approaching the portal to heaven, as he'd done every day since he'd escaped from Choi Young's raging attack. This day he saw leaves swirling in a wind emanating from the portal, and as he got closer, the portal blossomed, showing the swirling vortex inside it. Ki Chul was ecstatic to see the portal open, and he bent down to go through the stones surrounding the portal. But when he tried to actually enter the vortex, pushing into it with all his might, it threw him back out onto the ground. He lay there, weak and panting, feeling cheated of all that he had been planning to do.

Not much later, Young and Eun-soo arrived in the area, having come from the village where they had been staying on the other side of the river. Eun-soo’s hand was around Young’s arm for support, and they talked and smiled at each other as they walked. Suddenly they spied him in the field outside the portal, and their smiles died as they stopped. He had already spotted them and taken his last energy-boosting pill, knowing Young would never willingly let Eun-soo go. He glared angrily at them, and Young told Eun-soo to stay behind him as they warily approached the other man. They stopped several feet in front of Ki Chul, who told them, “Heaven’s door has opened. So now tell me. How do I go through that door?”

A little puzzled by the question, Eun-soo replied, “You can just walk through it.”

Looking both disappointed and angry, he told her, “You’re still lying to me! How can you be so cruel, when I’m so desperate?!” Young had not taken his eyes off Ki Chul, and seeing trouble coming, he glanced briefly at Eun-soo and told her to stand behind him. She retreated a few steps as both she and Young saw Ki Chul’s anger build until he shouted, “Answer me!!” and began stalking toward Eun-soo.

Young shouted back, “Stop!”

But that only angered Ki Chul more, who cried out as he strode toward Eun-soo, “Is death the end of it? Nothing more?!”

Young drew his sword and attacked Ki Chul, slashing at him, but Ki Chul twisted around Young, avoiding his sword, and ran toward Eun-soo. Young turned and threw his sword point-first into the other man's back, stopping him in mid-stride. Young ran to get between him and Eun-soo, grabbing Ki Chul by the wrists and holding his hands upright to avoid his freezing power. But Ki Chul, his strength and energy boosted by the drug he’d taken, smiled with gritted teeth, saying, “Let’s see who’s stronger!” He slowly bent his hands down to grab Young’s wrists. Young shortly realized that the other man's power was overwhelming his own, although he still fought back. Ki Chul continued to exert his drug-enhanced inner energy, eventually driving Young to his knees, frost beginning to appear on Young’s face and hands as he looked up at Ki Chul in shock. Soon Young was having trouble breathing, and then Ki Chul released him, letting him fall back onto the ground where he lay flat on his back, unable to move, his breath and heartbeat slowing. Crying out in shock and horror, Eun-soo ran to Young and began to pump on his chest to keep him alive. Young was conscious but unable to move, and as he watched his beloved desperately try to save him, he wondered why it had to have been Eun-soo who he had come to love and with whom the other man had become so obsessed. He had no regrets; he only wished he could have protected her from Ki Chul’s madness.

Ki Chul also fell to the ground from his extreme effort to disable Young, dislodging the sword from his back as he landed, although it caused him great pain as it ripped out of him. He exerted his inner energy to stop the wound from bleeding, and then used the sword to prop himself up to a standing position. He staggered toward Eun-soo, who was hovering over Young, still frantically pumping on his chest. He drove the sword into the ground right next to Young’s head, making Eun-soo cry out again. Leaving the sword there, he reached down and grabbed Eun-soo by the wrist, dragged her up to her feet and pulled her toward the portal.

Young could barely move his head to watch as Ki Chul took his beloved from him. He spoke to his father in his mind, _“I’ve wasted so much time thinking useless things. Father, I’ve found how much I want to live and why. But is it too late?”_

In just a few moments he realized that Eun-soo would respond to that by reassuring him, _“Everything is fine. Everything will be alright. This is only the beginning.”_ It was part of what he treasured about her, and it gave him hope. She would come back to him, somehow.

Before even reaching the portal, Ki Chul was having his own problems. The side effects of the second pill he’d taken had already started a backlash of his power. He was getting colder and colder, with frost forming on his hands and face. He staggered as they went, hardly able to keep moving himself while Eun-soo kept struggling to escape. As they drew close to the portal, she was finely able to yank herself free of him. She ran into the portal’s vortex to escape from Ki Chul and find help for Young. He tried to follow her into the vortex, but the portal again repelled him. He fell to his knees, right in front of it. The last thing he ever saw was the portal closing, its vortex disappearing in only seconds. The energy backlash quickly enveloped him entirely, freezing Ki Chul right where he was. He exhaled one last time, a frosty mist coming from his mouth. And then he was still, his face frozen in permanent disappointment.

Eun-soo found herself back in contemporary Seoul. She had been thinking for some time about what medical equipment and medicines she should bring back to Goryeo. But now she was also frantic to find help for Young. She ran down the hill and then made her way to the hospital unit where she had worked. She was greeted by a surprised nurse as well as a news team from Japan. They were interviewing staff there and appeared to have a particular interest in her stem cell research. Obtaining money for that research had at one time totally consumed her, but now it was the furthest thing from her mind. She put the news team off, and borrowing a camera bag from one of them, excused herself and ran into a medical supply room. There, she gathered bandages, instruments, and whatever else was at hand that might help Young and others in Goryeo. She also went to her desk, picking up a few personal items and stuffing them in the bag along with the medical supplies. Meanwhile, a nurse was calling the police and telling them that the person they had reported as kidnapped had just returned but was dressed in unusual clothes. Eun-soo had no intention of answering anyone’s questions. She ran out another entrance and made her way back up the hill to the portal.

With no hesitation Eun-soo threw herself into the vortex, concerned only with returning to save Young. She emerged and ran out into the grassy field beyond the portal. It looked like the same place, but Young wasn’t there. With a sinking heart she thought, _“I have been separated from him again.”_ She ran back to the portal, but by then it had closed. In time she learned that she had arrived in an earlier Goryeo, 100 years before she had left Young. She was alone and stranded, comforted only by her memories of him and the others she had come to love in Goryeo. From time to time she would ask herself, _“On that day, what aspect, what moment could have been wrong? What did I need in order to go back there? Was I lacking in yearning? Or in faith?”_

To support herself, Eun-soo became a healer in the village nearest the portal, planting an herbal garden to make medicines. She quickly became known for her unusual skills. And every day that she could, she walked to the portal to see if it had opened. She calculated when the portal would open and recorded those in her journal, but she didn’t want to miss any possible opportunity to return to Young. And whenever she treated a young boy, she wondered if he was the one that would grow up to be a robber and cause such grievous harm to the village. But figuring that out wasn’t her job as a doctor; she treated all who came to her.

She often used the few personal items she’d brought with her, among them her journal with the leather cover, and a miniature video recorder/projector with a white leather cover, so small she could hold it in her hand. She’d comfort herself by turning the projector on and watching a short video of her mother and father telling her hello. They had sent the recorder to her as a birthday present. It was her most precious possession, and her eyes would moisten while she watched and talked to them as the video played. But eventually the batteries ran down and the recorder ceased to work. No one would know what it was until Eun-soo saw it 100 years later, as the third relic from Hwata.

She wrote to herself in her journal, giving what information she could that would help herself and Young 100 years later. She also wrote about the ill-fated day that they returned to the portal, warning about Ki Chul and being dragged into the portal with no way back. She added that she had faith in Young, that she believed he hadn’t died that day. But her future self would never see her description of that final day; those words were among the pages that Prince Hyung would burn.

Also during that time, she traveled along the path that she and Young had taken when they fled from the envoy’s demand that she be executed. She found the area of the rockfall where she had discovered the message in the plastic film cannister. She wrote a message on pages taken from her journal, including a cautionary message about what would happen if they didn’t return to the capital to save the Queen. She placed the folded pages in the cannister that she’d found in the cameraman’s bag, put the cap on, and rolled it into the crack under the rocks. If there were such a thing as alternate timelines, she hoped that she would find it in all of them.

Eun-soo had lived there for about a year when she once again walked to the portal. She wore traveling clothes topped by a broad-brimmed hat and used a walking stick. Her calculations showed the portal would open on that day, but her calculations had been far from perfect. On two other occasions she had walked there, confident that it would open, but the portal had remained closed. Arriving at the portal this day, she turned a corner and saw that the portal was still closed. She turned away in disappointment, leaning against a nearby rock. Then she recalled something that she had read long ago and had repeated to herself over and over during her time there: _“Earnest desire creates connections, and only memories will bring those moments to life.”_ She recalled her fondest moments with Young and wished with all her heart for the portal to open.

And then, whether the Sun’s coronal energy caused it or whether her heart’s desire called to it, she saw leaves begin to whirl as a wind began emanating from the portal. She looked around the corner again and saw the now-familiar vortex growing as it swirled with energy. With no hesitation she went into it and emerged once again in modern-day Seoul. She gazed at it for the briefest moment before re-entering the portal, all her desire and memories focused on Young.

Emerging again from the portal into the familiar field, she had no idea _when_ she had arrived. She walked to the nearby village that she had called home for the past year, finding it looking much the same but with some differences. She didn’t recognize anyone that she saw on the street and no one seemed to recognize her. Some of the buildings she was familiar with looked a bit older and worn than the time she had just left, among them the inn where Young had originally brought her to heal the Queen. Her heart lifted as she thought she must be later in time. But how much later? She went into the inn and sat at a table and ordered something to eat. Only then did she look around and see that a group of Goryeo soldiers were eating in an adjoining part of the common room. She stopped one of them as he passed by and asked, “I have a question, Sir.”

He asked brusquely, “What is it?”

“Why are Goryeo soldiers here? This is the land of Yuan; is it okay for you to be here?”

“He smiled with a hint of derision, “How is this Yuan territory? Don’t you know that our King restored the lost territory of Goryeo? Did you just come out of the mountains or something?”

Then she inquired, “May I ask the name of the previous king?”

“You mean, King Chung Kyeong?” Her heart skipped a beat. That meant King Gongmin was the current King!

She asked one more question, “Then, how long has the current King has been on the throne?”

The soldier turned to some of his comrades in the adjoining room and shouted, “Hey, how long has it been since His Majesty has been on the throne?”

One of them yelled back, “I think it’s been about five years.” Eun-soo had lived in King Gongmin's Goryeo for about a year before Ki Chul dragged her to the portal, so she had returned to a time about four years after she’d left. Her heart began to beat faster with both joy and fear as she wondered if Young was still alive.

The soldier turned to leave, but a familiar voice called to him, and he went into the adjoining room. She stood up to see who was talking, looking through an opening into that room. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw that the soldier was standing in front of a bearded Deok-man, who asked him, “What have you done with the patrol assignments? Look how thinly distributed they are outside!”

The soldier respectfully replied, “I will see to it, Sir. Should we double our defenses?”

She heard another familiar voice as Dae-man came into view, replying, “Yes, that’s good.”

The soldier again repeated, “Yes, Sir,” and left.

Her heart warmed as she saw Dae-man seat himself next to Deok-man. Then she saw Choon-sik entering that room as well, asking, “Where’s the Commanding General?”

Deok-man answered, “He’s still at that place, where the tree is.” Dae-man added, without a hint of stuttering, that someone should take him some food, because whenever he went there, he usually stayed three or four days. Her heart skipped a beat. _Could it be…?!_

Choon-sik told Dae-man that there were orders that still needed to be signed, and he should have gotten the General’s signature before he left. Deok-man added with an elbow to Dae-man’s side, “Such an idiot!” She smiled to see their familiar jostling and bickering. None of them had yet spotted her, though, and she quickly left the inn without touching her food.

  
She walked as fast as she could back to the area of the portal and the tall spreading tree on the far side of the field. As she neared it, she saw someone sitting at its base, looking out over the valley beyond. As she approached, the person turned his head, spied her and stood up. The tall man in armor walked toward her. At first she couldn’t see his face as it was still in the tree’s shadow, but his walk was familiar. She could tell it was Young, and soon she could see the handsome face that she loved so well emerging from under the tree's canopy. He looked a little older, sporting a light mustache and beard. She stopped not far from him, looking at him with shining eyes. He did the same, just taking in the sight of her, a smile growing on his lips and his eyes becoming moist.

After a few moments, she said with a teary smile, “I’ve come back.”

He softly breathed, “Imja.” She quickly removed her wide hat and tossed it away as he took a step toward her, and she ran to him, her long hair flying out behind her. His smile grew broader as she flew to him, hardly able to believe she was really there. He took her in in his arms, trying to be gentle, so as not to crush her against his armor, but she threw her arms around him, holding him as tight as she could. They stayed locked together for several moments, then they looked at each other again, gazing into each other’s eyes with happiness and tears. Young bent down to kiss her softly. When their lips parted she reached up to touch his cheek, and soon they kissed again, longer this time, the kiss heavy with the promise of later intimacy.

But for the rest of that afternoon they sat together under the tree, sharing stories of their time apart and sometimes sitting in silence, simply enjoying the presence of the other. There were more tears as well as laughter. At last, as the light began to soften into evening, they returned to the inn to share their joy with their dear comrades, the Woodalchi.


End file.
